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The Conservator is a professional who has the training, knowledge, skills, experience
and understanding to act with the aim of preserving cultural heritage
for the future, and according to the considerations as outlined in
various international charters.
The principal aim of conservators at NAM is
to take care of our archival collections by ensuring that they are preserved
in a stable condition while making them accessible to researchers.
Various factors determine the state of
preservation of a document; these may include external factors such as
handling, storage, and environmental conditions or intrinsic factors
such as ink corrosion and brittle paper caused by chemical reactions and natural
aging. For the safekeeping of archival
material, the conditions for their storage and display are governed by a set
of standards to act as guidelines for their better preservation. When any of
these guidelines are not adhered to, damage will occur.
What is the difference between Preservation,
Conservation and Restoration?
Preservation or Preventive
Conservation consists of indirect
actions to retard deterioration and prevent damage by
creating conditions optimal for the preservation of the collection.
Conservation consists mainly of direct actions carried out on damaged or deteriorated
documents with the aim of stabilising
their condition and retarding further deterioration.
Restoration consists
of a direct action carried out on damaged or deteriorated items with the
aim of facilitating its perception, appreciation and understanding,
while respecting as far as possible its aesthetic, historic and physical
properties.
What are
the main tasks of the Conservation Laboratory?
The Conservation Laboratory at NAM has the
required expertise and equipment to carry out various interventions needed
for the preservation and conservation-restoration of its holding.
In order to achieve its goals, the Conservators carry out monitoring
campaigns recording the environmental conditions of the repositories together
with condition surveys both on the existing holdings and new
acquisitions. This
analytical process shapes the foundation for any conservation intervention. Conservation
treatments are carried out using selective methods accordingly
and using high quality archival standard materials. Documentation is done
before, during and after any intervention. These interventions are reversible
and performed following International Code of Ethics.
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