Nicki Garces Valancy Rasmussen Sarah Vornholt

1. Exhibiting Collections
LIS 619
Team 4
Nicki Garces
Valancy Rasmussen
Sarah Vornholt
October 25, 2011

2. Agenda
• Introduction to exhibits
• The standards in exhibit preservation &
conservation
• The use of technology
• Short "field trip" to Curator's Choice Exhibition

3. Introduction to Exhibits
Exhibit:
"A physical object placed on display in a museum, gallery or
other public place, usually because of its historical, cultural, or
scientific importance or its aesthetic qualities, extraordinary
characteristics or monetary value. Libraries typically exhibit
rare and valuable books, manuscripts, personal papers and
memorabilia associated with authorship, publishing, book
history, and reading. Exhibits may be permanent or rotate
periodically, depending on the availability of materials suitable
for display and the policy of the library."
-ABC-CLIO Online Dictionary for Library
and Information Science

4. Definition (con't)
"An exhibit is a physical environment designed for the
experience of embedded knowledge."
-Eugene Dillenburg, 2011
• Information of the items are imbedded based on how the
items are displayed
• An exhibit is a medium of media (utilization of sound, written
word, image, moving image, performance, etc.) in which
someone can immerse him/herself in
• An experience
https://www.msu.edu/~dillenbu/

5. Reasons for Exhibits and Exhibitions
Museums Libraries & Archives
-To foster discussion, -To show off their
-Challenge the visitor, collections to the public
-Make connections to including newly acquired
issues that interest the acquisitions,
visitor, and -Traveling exhibits, and
-Provide guidance for -As community/public
applications to the world spaces, local artists and
organizations can
showcase their work or
"collections"

6. U.S. National Park Service
• Published Exhibit Conservation
Guidelines: Incorporating Conservation
into Exhibit Planning, Design and
Fabrication (1999)
• Guidelines and standards created due to
past conflicts between exhibit specialists http://www.nps.gov/index.htm
and conservators
-Lack of training and preparation for museum staff on
preservation
-Lack of cross-training between exhibit specialists
and conservators
-"Evolution of a flawed exhibit development process"
-Tradition of poor communication

7. Exhibit Preservation & Conservation
Goal:
"to design and produce preservation-friendly
exhibits that attract and inform the public."
-Toby J. Rafael (2005)

8. The Importance of Standards
• Sets guidelines and regulations for basic responsible
preservation that can be followed
• Allows compliance and acceptability in the field for
preserving artifacts
• To protect the items
• Allows for collaborative team work
(many museum exhibition and conservation
guidelines and standards can be directly transferred
to libraries and archives)

9. First Steps to Exhibiting the Materials
– Select items that are fit to display.
– A record of all items exhibited should be kept.
o Assessment of their condition before going on display
o Call numbers of books
o Exact pages displayed
o Length of exhibit
o Environmental conditions
3. For items on loan, both the lending institution and
borrowing institution should make adequate
provisions for safekeeping.

10. The Environment
Temperature & Humidity
• Same temperature and humidity requirements as
special collections storage area
• RH (relative humidity) should be constant and
moderate for length of the show
• Make sure all windows are sealed for air quality
control
• For libraries and archives: when considering
exhibition space, monitor the space a year in
advance

11. LUX Concept
• Lux = lumens per square meter
• Lumens = amount of light omitted from a source
• 50 lux essential for exhibitions on paper, drawings and
water colors, feathers and other light-sensitive organic
materials
• 150-200 lux for oil and acrylic paintings and other
moderately light sensitive objects
• 300 lux for ceramics, glass, stone and most metals (not
light sensitive)
• 120,000-50,000 lux-hours per annum propose for highly
sensitive 50-lux items (i.e., paper, textiles)
• 10,000 lux on a clear day

12. Example of the Affects of Light
• 5 mlux hours = 20 years on display at standards.
Picasso's Woman with a Flower (watercolor on paper)
• (a) 0 Mlux-hrs (b) 1.8 Mlux-hrs (c) 8.4 Mlux-hrs (d) 229 Mlux-hrs

13. Blue Wool Cards
Al= aluminum foil UV= UV filter
Difference is shown after 8 months facing a window
(sunlight).

14. Lighting in Exhibits
Albert Einstein's Original Theory of Relativity Manuscript Goes on Display

15. Artificial Lighting
• Florescent Lighting
• Incandescent Lamps
• Halogen Lights
Fiber Optic Lighting Options

16. Fiber Optics and LED Lighting
Yale School of Medicine: Crushing Center
Fiber Optic Lighting Options

17. UV and Materials
• Solutions to UV natural light and artificial lighting
(Vancouver Public Library Photographer: Alex Ramon - July 2005)

18. Cases for Exhibition
• Wood cases • Anodized Aluminum
Oak Case Aluminum Case

19. Dangers of Cases
• Off-Gasing: evaporation of volatile chemicals in non-metallic
materials at normal atmospheric pressure.
o Dangerous Case Materials
 polyurethanes
 green woods
 wood paneling
 plywood
 particle board
 newsprint, construction paper, kraft paper, wrapping
paper

20. Barrier Materials
• Safe barrier materials
o some plastics including polyethylene, polypropylene
o glass
o ArtCor or FoamCor (laminated panel board)
o fishing line
o velcro
o acid free archival papers
• Safe fabrics
o unbleached linens washed in hot with no
detergent
• Unsafe fabrics
o wool
o carpets
o fabrics treated with fire-retardants

21. Silica Gel
Silica Gel Pack
Gaylord: Indicating Silica Gel

22. How to Display Books
• Sensitive paper should not be displayed longer than 3
months in a period of two years
Yale Law Rare Library: Medieval Exhibit

23. Photographs
• Possible and recommended to display reproductions of
photographs
Wisconsin Library Heritage Museum Advertising Envelope

24. Matboards for Framing
Border from a Poor Quality Mat

25. Preservation and
Exhibitions Technology
• Virtual Exhibitions
• Digital Materials
• Specialty Equipment and
Security for Exhibitions

26. Virtual Exhibitions
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
http://expositions.bnf.fr/usindex.htm

27. Digital Materials
Bibliothèque Nationale de France -
digital collections
http://gallica.bnf.fr/

28. Specialty Equipment and Security for
Exhibitions
• Louvre-- the Mona Lisa
• National Archives-- the Declaration of Independence
• Specialty products
• Protection from human damage

29. Louvre--the Mona Lisa
-Moved in 2005 into specially designed case.
-Fitted with new devices to protect from cracking and to
monitor relative humidity and temperature.
http://www.cyf-kr.edu.pl/~ncbratas/oslo/UzielliOslo2010.pdf

30. National Archives--the Declaration of
Independence
-Case design and properties
-Previous light damage
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

31. Specialty Museum Equipment
-Goppion
http://www.goppion.com/en/welcome.htm

32. -Glasbau Hahn
http://www.glasbau-hahn.de/english/vitrinen/vitrinen_en.php

33. Protection from Human Damage
• Attacks on the Mona Lisa
• Attacks at the National Gallery

34. References
"About the Louvre". http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/liste_metiers.jsp?bmLocale=en
"The Declaration of Independence: A History".
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_history.html
“Matting and Framing” American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works,
accessed October 21, 2011,
http://www.conservation-us.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/mattingandframing.pdf
"Mona Lisa Gains a New Louvre Home", BBC News, (April 6, 2005).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4413303.stm
Balloffet, Nelly and Hille, Jenny. Preservation and Conservation for Libraries and Archives.
Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 2005.
Dillenburg, Eugene. “What, if Anyting, Is a Museum?” Exhibitionist 30, no. 1 (Spring 2011), pp.
9-13.
Falk, John H., Lynn D. Dierking and Susan Foutz (eds.) In Principle, In Practice: Museums as
Learning Institutions. New York, NY: Altamira Press, 2007.
Glaser, Mary Todd. "Protecting Paper and Book Collections During Exhibition" Northeast
Document Conservation Center (2007), accessed October 21, 2011,
http://www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets/2The_Environment/05ProtectingCollections.php

35. Gorman, G.E. and Sydney J. Shep, Preservation Management for Libraries, Archives and
Museums, (London: Facet Publishing, 2006), 223.
Laboratorio Museotecnicio Goppion. Projects- Musée du Louvre, Salle des Etats (Mona Lisa
room). http://www.goppion.com/en/progetti_show.asp?ID=30
Jordon, Anne. “Exhibit Mounting Variations For Objects On Paper” Conserv-O-Gram, 13-04
National Park Service (1993), accessed October 21, 2011,
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-04.pdf
Lord, Gail D. and Lord, Barry. The Manual of Museum Management, 2nd edition. New York,
NY: Altamira Press, 2009.
Martin, Susan B. “Polyester Film Book Supports” Conserv-O-Gram Vol. 18-01, National Park
Service, accessed October 21, 2011,
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/18-01.pdf
Maverick, Vance. "The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in Storage", 2003.
http://edgeofthewest.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/the-declaration-of-independence-and-the-cons
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. "Relative Humidity,"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relative%20humidity
Morris, Hannah R. “‘Virtual Fading’ of Art Objects: Simulating the Future Fading of Artifacts by
Visualizing Micro-Fading Test Results” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation Vol.
46, No. 3 (Fall - Winter, 2007) : 215-228, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40024996
Munro, Susan Nash. “Window Mats For Paper Objects” Conserv-O-Gram Vol. 13-01, National

36. Munro, Susan Nash. “Window Mats For Paper Objects” Conserv-O-Gram Vol. 13-01,
National Park Service, accessed October 21, 2011,
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-01.pdf
Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn and Catherine Nicholson, "A New Era Begins for the Charters of
Freedom", 2003. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters_preservation_01.html
Samuel, Henry. "Woman Attacks Mona Lisa", The Telegraph, (August 11, 2009).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6009693/Woman-attacks-Mona-Lis
Trescott, Jacqueline and Timothy R. Smith. "Gauguin Masterpiece Unharmed After Attack
at National Gallery", The Washington Post, (April 4, 2011).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6009693/Woman-attacks-Mona-Lis
Raphael, Toby J. "Preventative Conservation and the Exhibition Process: Development of
Exhibit Guildlines and Standards for Conservation." Journal of American Institute for
Conservation 44 (2005): 245-257,
http://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic44-03-008_indx.html
Reitz, Joan M. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. ABC-CLIO, accessed
October 20, 2011, http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/searchODLIS.aspx
Visser, Michelle. “Considerations in the Preparation of Library Exhibits Featuring Rare
Books and Manuscripts.” College and Undergraduate Libraries, Vol. 11, Issue 2
(December, 2004) : 51-62, accessed October 21, 2011,
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-01.pdf