Wunsch Conservation Lab

Conservation does not make decisions around the state of an artifact or its housing by themselves. It is always 100% a conversation and decision made with the custorial liaison (member of the processing team). All processors who work with conservation need to understand this.

Intro to Wunsch Lab...

Common supplies

Wunsch - how they label things, common supplies across all of IASC (bigger discussion)

Workflow

Pre-custodial: 

Notes created by curator (packer/transferer of a collection) should indicate any concerns about where the materials came from (basement, garage, leaky attic, specific building on campus). Wunsch can be called upon to assess collections before they are moved to DDC or immediately after if there is concern by curator. In general, appraisal decisions have weeded moldy, smelly, water damaged material.

During accessioning or processing:

Make note of items that may need conservation treatment (large, fragile, smelly) in a work plan or in ArchivesSpace (use processing notes). Flag item and box so can find later.

When to flag and bring to conservation

• If you can’t folder something - doesn’t fit in standard box size - goes to conservation. Flag it when processing and bring it over. Better to bring over multiple items / concerns rather than one at a time. Make an appointment by emailing Jana and Ayako.

• If it stinks - make an appointment and sign up to use the hood - processors do this in Wunsch - not Wunsch staff - if stink persists make appointment for it to go

• Custom housing and interior retrofitting - by appointment - need to come with 2 questions - 1: Do you have space / where will it go? (this means final resting spot - what is space on shelf?) 2: What are limitations (max height, width, depth)? - these questions can be conversation/consult - ideally be done in final resting place of the item  

• criteria for sending materials for preservation/conservation treatment

• Flag for conservation

• Mold - stop what doing when you notice something (can check all boxes, but stop processing), place flag in folder with questionable material if only one or a few instances, make appointment with conservation to look at material can place they can put it under the hood and put carbon pieces with it

• workflow for tracking materials sent and actions taken - chain of custody (sign-in book) ConservationSpace or TMS

• link to ASpace guide: Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements; Processing Information

Workflow:

Pre-custodial:

Want to make notes and photos of materials in situ before moved. Should have notes in control file about what conditions were like during initial assessment and packing. Wunsch Lab could consult on acquisitions. General practice has been to not take material that is especially dirty, musty, smelly, or wet (part of initial appraisal).

Post-custodial:

Flagging records / boxes that come out of collections. 

Daily practice

-daily processing-business as usual

Weekly practice 

(what is the intake volume per week, typically)

(new to conservation)

If you can’t folder it, sleeve it, sub folder it, or box, you flag it.

If it stinks, you make an appointment, and you sign up to use the fume hood and the nilflisk?

If you can’t get rid of the stink and a problem to serve, make an appointment to come to conservation.

If you are processing and you don’t want to slow down your flow, you flag (we give you an infinite supply of acid free flags) . E.g. You have 18 doc boxes on a cart, 50 folders in a box, and only one needs conservation, flag it, send  

Phase out out paige, they are too heavy lift, pest can live in corrugation.

Quarterly planned project - are equivalent to background tasking of us

1. Backlog projects that we have can cycle through conservation

2. Chris has a list

3. If you have a backlog wish list, we can form a que and we can process them through conservation for any

Make appointment immediately with conservation

Rush Projects (e.g., discoveries, lobby 10 posters, Science March)

-make an appointment immediately

High profile archive, make an appointment with conservation or know that we have the thursday morning slot is always free for any walk-in

Oversized/odd shaped

Digital projects