Why storage reorganization?

Some facts

The progressive abandonment of museum storage is not only an issue affecting developing countries. All countries face the same problems:

• All over the world, the situation of museum storage is worrying, as shown by the International Survey on Museum Storage conducted by ICCROM and UNESCO in 2011. Read the survey summary report here.
• In the United States, the 2005 Heritage Health Index showed that only 11% of institutions had adequate storage facilities; moreover, a 2011 report by the Inspector General said 10% of inventoried items at the National Museum of American History are expected to be missing.
• In Russia, as reported in 2008 by the French newspaper Le Monde, the inventory control of a large national museum revealed 50,000 missing objects.
• In Canada, the Collections Survey 2008/2009 by the Canadian Art Museum Directors' Conference (CAMDO) showed that 37.2% of storage facilities were inadequate and that 93% of storage areas would be full within 10 years.
• In Wales, the 2007 report Spotlight on Museums revealed that 67% of museum storage areas were already full, or would be within 5 years.
• In the UK, the 2008 University College London led research Collections for People showed that overcrowding was believed to be the biggest deterrent to opening up storage to the public.

And the list goes on…

Storage reorganization tackles the complexity of existing situations

• While much has been written on how to plan new storage areas starting from zero, most museums are not faced with this problem at all. Instead, they must improve a situation that has deteriorated over time: objects are no longer visible, accessible or retrievable; materials of all kinds have accumulated in the aisles, and the building no longer offers adequate protection.
• Although 60% of museums worldwide are faced with this particular problem, literature and tools on this topic are virtually inexistent.

Our goal

• The storage reorganization methodology aims to help museum professionals implement meaningful changes in their storage area(s) by providing a systematic, step-by-step approach to improve the collection’s potential for use and access, while ensuring its long-term conservation.
• The storage reorganization methodology also provides original didactic material for instructors in the fields of conservation, museum studies and collections management to help them integrate storage reorganization into their teaching curricula.

Our target audience

Museum professionals

• Who work in (or advise) a museum with a collection of 1,000 to 10,000 objects. Over time, the storage areas (probably in one or two rooms) have been abandoned progressively and no longer fulfil the seven essential criteria for good storage:

1. There is at least one trained member of staff in charge
2. There is a basic documentation system (complete & up to date)
3. Storage areas are reserved exclusively for the collection
4. Every object has an assigned location
5. Every object can be retrieved within three minutes
6. Every object can be moved without damaging another
7. The building is designed or adapted for conservation

• Who want the stored collection to be usable for the museum’s public outreach activities, and for it to be presentable to colleagues.
• Who have colleagues that are keen to work together to reorganize the storage areas, but don’t know where to start.

Teachers

• Who want their students to have a positive impact on the state of storage worldwide.
• Who are aware that few didactic resources and literature exist on this subject.
• Who need new, comprehensive material to support their teaching.