A collection storage area filled with open drawers, showcasing a meticulously curated natural history collection. Image by Chip Clark, courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.
Integral to every museum is a commitment to preserving art and artifacts for future generations. The key to ensuring these collections remain safe, accessible, and in excellent condition is proper storage that safeguards the stories they hold. A variety of storage methods, from climate-controlled cabinets to specialized racks, are available to meet the unique needs of different collection types. By pairing these methods with best practices, such as clear labeling, regular maintenance, and optimal environmental conditions, museums can effectively safeguard their collections while ensuring public accessibility.
To protect delicate artifacts like photographs, textiles, and manuscripts, ideal storage involves a climate-controlled environment. This helps maintain stable temperature, humidity, and air quality, preventing damage. While this is considered best practice, it can be costly. Prioritizing sensitive items for climate-controlled storage is essential to safeguard their preservation.
Types of Museum Storage
Here are some common storage solutions tailored to the diverse needs of museum collections:
- Shelving: Ideal for lightweight items such as books, boxes, and documents.
- Cabinets: Secure, enclosed storage with climate control for fragile or sensitive objects like textiles and small artifacts.
- Pallet Racks: Designed for large, heavy items such as sculptures, machinery, or crated artifacts.
- Flat Files: Perfect for oversized, flat items like maps, drawings, and blueprints, preventing damage from bending or rolling.
- Rolled Storage: Used for textiles and large paper artifacts, stored on acid-free tubes to avoid creasing.
- Hanging Racks: Suitable for vertically storing framed artwork, paintings, and some textiles, saving space and reducing handling risks.
- Cold Storage: Essential for sensitive materials such as film, nitrate negatives, and organic artifacts such as biological specimens.
- Open Storage: Focuses on efficient access and retrieval, often used for large or frequently accessed items, though with less environmental control.
- Visible Storage: Displays parts of the collection to the public in controlled environments, combining preservation with public engagement.
- Compact Storage: Space-saving systems, such as mobile shelving, ideal for managing large collections in limited storage areas.
Smaller objects are safely stored in archival boxes, rolls, and tubes made from acid-free and lignin-free materials. These containers protect items from dust, light, and physical damage- ideal for documents, photographs, textiles, and other small artifacts.
Oversized objects, such as large sculptures or artifacts, are stored on pallets or trays. Pallets provide a sturdy base for heavy items, while trays support large, flat, or irregularly shaped objects. Both options allow for easy movement and efficient storage, helping to ensure the preservation of these important items.
While proper storage keeps collections safe, knowing the exact location of each item is essential. Use clear and consistent location codes in a collections management system (CMS) to efficiently find, access, and track items, saving time and preventing loss.
Using CatalogIt to Track Storage Locations
CatalogIt makes it easy to track collections at all times, whether they are on display, in transit, or in storage. With institution-specific codes, each item can be precisely located within a specific building, floor, room, cabinet, shelf, or even down to the box or envelope. A well-organized storage system depends on accurate documentation, making location codes an essential part of effective collections management.
These codes, often alphanumeric, are key for several reasons:
- Simple and quick retrieval of collections: Clear location codes make it easy for staff to locate specific items quickly, reducing the risk of mishandling or misplacement.
- Accurate Inventories: When collection locations are well-documented, inventory processes become more accurate and efficient.
- Risk Mitigation: In the event of a disaster, clear location codes ensure that all items can be accounted for and relocated if necessary.
- Accessibility and Research: Staff can easily identify and access items, fostering a deeper engagement with the collection.
- Public Access: For museums with visible storage, concise location codes allow for better tracking and finding of items, ensuring that they remain secure and organized even in a public-facing environment.
Best Practices for Location Codes
To maximize efficiency and accuracy, follow these best practices when creating and using location codes:
- Consistency: Develop a standardized format for your location codes, incorporating elements such as room, aisle, shelf, and position.
- Simplicity: Use codes that are straightforward and easy to interpret. Avoid overly complex or ambiguous numbering systems.
- Integration: Ensure that the location codes are fully integrated into your CMS, so updates and changes are logged and traceable.
- Labeling: Clearly label storage areas and objects with their respective codes to avoid confusion. The use of QR codes can help to further ensure clarity.
Proper storage and clear location codes protect collections while ensuring they remain accessible and well-organized. With CatalogIt, museums can securely track objects, enhancing preservation and public engagement while making collections more transparent and accessible for future generations.
Creating Efficient Location Codes in CatalogIt
CatalogIt features a robust Location Profile system that allows users to track object locations efficiently, from general locations, such as the building, down to specific details, like the tray within a box. Each object's location can include details such as the building, floor, room, row, cabinet, shelf, box, and tray.
To maintain clarity, it is crucial to use consistent and simple codes or terms. For example, consider an artifact stored in a box at an offsite storage facility, such as the one below:
In View Mode (accessible via computer or mobile device), you can quickly see that the artifact—a coffee can—is stored offsite in Room A, Row 3 of the cabinets, Shelf 7 of Cabinet 4, and in Tray 1 within Box 20. Here, full terms are used to name storage locations.
Alternatively, you can streamline this system by creating codes. For instance, "Shelf 7 in Cabinet 4" could be shortened to “S7-C4.” Consistency is key to success- choose either full terms or codes and apply them consistently across your system. If you opt for codes, ensure that they are well-documented and clearly understood by everyone.
Creating and Updating Locations in CatalogIt
You can create new location codes in two ways:
- Directly from the object's record.
- Through the Location Profile.
1. Updating or Creating Locations from an Object Record
- Click on the location field in the object's record to access the dropdown menu.
- Check if the desired location already exists. Start typing in the field (e.g., "Tray").some text
- If the location, such as Tray 1, exists, select it and save the record.
- If it does not exist, click the "+" icon at the end of the location field.
This will bring you to the Create Location screen where you can create the new location. Follow these steps:
- Fill out the fields on the "Create Location" screen. Be sure to include a Location Type and specify the immediate parent location in the “Located In” field.
- When finished, click Create in the upper-right corner to save your new location.
2. Creating a New Location from the Profile
- Navigate to Location in the Profile Menu.
- Search for the desired location to ensure it doesn’t already exist.some text
- If it does not exist, select Create New Location.
- Fill out the required fields and save the new location.
Viewing and Managing Locations
Once saved, the new location profile will display:
- A list of items stored in that location.
- The exact placement of the profile within your storage system, including its full location hierarchy.
For broader locations, like a building, the profile will also list all associated sub-locations and their details.
By leveraging CatalogIt's Location Profile system and adopting consistent naming or coding practices, you can streamline object tracking and ensure that locations remain clear and organized. Whether managing a single artifact or an entire collection, consistency and simplicity are key to maintaining an efficient and user-friendly system. Regularly review and refine your location codes or terms to adapt to your growing storage needs, ensuring everyone on your team can navigate the system effortlessly. With CatalogIt, staying organized has never been easier!
Resource list
Here is a list of some of the vendors in the United States that specialize in archival materials and museum storage solutions:
- University Products
Offers a wide range of archival storage products, including acid-free boxes, folders, and conservation tools. - Gaylord Archival
Provides archival and preservation supplies, storage furniture, and exhibit cases tailored for museums and libraries. - Hollinger Metal Edge
Specializes in archival boxes, enclosures, and preservation supplies for various collection types. - Archival Products
Manufactures custom archival enclosures and binders for preserving documents, textiles, and other sensitive materials. - Patterson Pope
Provides museum storage systems such as high-density shelving, art racks, and cabinets for artifact preservation. - Spacesaver
Offers compact and high-density storage solutions designed for museum collections, including shelving and cabinets. - Light Impressions
Provides high-quality archival storage products, including photo safe boxes, folders, and envelopes. - Archival Methods
Offers a variety of archival storage solutions, including boxes, portfolios, and mounting supplies for preservation and display. - Metal Edge, Inc.
Provides archival-grade boxes, file folders, and storage solutions tailored for museums, libraries, and archives. - Delta Designs Ltd.
Specializes in high-quality museum cabinets and storage systems designed to meet conservation standards. - QuakeWrap
Focuses on earthquake-resistant shelving and storage systems, ideal for protecting collections in seismic areas. - Brodart
Provides archival materials, storage furniture, and display cases for libraries, museums, and cultural institutions. - Conservation Resources International
Offers a wide range of conservation and preservation materials, including archival boards, adhesives, and encapsulation supplies. - Euram Materials
Supplies conservation and storage materials, including archival boxes, shelving, and protective enclosures. - Preservation Equipment Ltd.
Provides museum-quality storage and conservation supplies for artifacts, books, and photographs.
The vendors listed are provided as potential resources for museum archival materials and storage solutions; however, this does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of their products or services by CatalogIt.