Museum Conservation

Museum is a place or building where artistic, cultural interest, scientific and historical objects are stored and displayed. Museum conservation attempts to prolong the lifespan of these objects and maintain their value. The primary purpose to conserve these historical and artistic kinds of stuff are to ensure that they are preserved and restored for exhibition while in the proper condition since they are sources of revenue to the country (Keene, 2002). When people visit these sites, they pay a little fee which is later used to maintain the museum. Therefore, this brings in the difference between conservation, restoration and preservation of the museum.

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Conservation is the act of preventing further deterioration. It is done by cleaning or removing agents that cause damage to any objects. The goal of conservation is to treat an artefact so that it can be gently handled, carefully stored or displayed without further risk of damage or loss. Moreover, historical and artistic objects are easy to break and once broken they are referred as rejects. It is the work of the conservator to ensure that they are replaced to stabilize their storage and handling. Therefore, conservation is not the art to return an object to its original state rather it is to ensure it is free from the risk of damage or loss.

Preservation is the act of sustaining artefacts by providing a steady storage or display environment for minimizing further harm or worsening. It is accomplished by controlling environmental factors such as temperatures, humidity, light and other potentially damaging agents (Thomson, 1986). Restoration plays a significant role in returning an object to its original state. Restorations in a museum are undertaken only after careful consideration of the ethics, proposed treatment plan, the likelihood of achieving success, and ultimate intended use of the artefact. If the object cannot serve to validate a genuinely radical code or improve technology, then it cannot take up the treasured space in the gallery.

Moreover, space in a museum tends to be poorly managed, and this causes trauma to staff, damage to the collections, and a significant waste of other such critical resources (Charola & Koestler, 2010). Therefore, space is money and should be controlled accurately and cost effectively with the severe attention that is demanded by the modern accounting principles. Also, space is power, and it represents the personal position, job security, and prestige. Therefore, the available space should be well managed to fit the recommended items. Moreover, museums being attractive sites for tourists, with limited purpose- built spaces and resources it will be supportive to implement a restaurant or cafe in a small museum.

The construction of the restaurant or cafe will be an added advantage to an institution such as University Museum. It is because when the tourists visit the museum, they will have their way to the restaurant and purchase the available items thereby resulting in extra income to the institution (Clavir, 2002). Also, the restaurants will be used as the interaction places for people visiting the museum. Due to the attractiveness of the restaurants, people will find it necessary to hold communication sessions inside the cafes while feeding thereby adding revenue to the University Museum. Moreover, via interactions they will contribute to understanding different cultures since people from walks will visit the cafe from the museum.

Also, the implementation of the restaurants in the small museum will lead to the provision of security of the artefacts. It is because with the continued services of the cafe involvement of the safety of the objects will be achieved. Therefore, conservation, preservation and restoration of the restaurants to be in good condition and the available space well managed, they will be greatly appreciated and utilized by the tourists. Later, they will be of benefit to the institution thereby encouraging the museum conservation leading to more tourists attraction.

References

Charola, A., & Koestler, R. (2010). Pesticide mitigation in museum collections. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.

Clavir, M. (2002). Preserving what is valued. Vancouver, B.C.: UBC Press.

Keene, S. (2002). Managing conservation in museums. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Thomson, G. (1986). The museum environment. London: Butterworths, in association with the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.