Below you’ll find a list of organisations and resources who can support with collections care. For further information please contact Anita Hollinshead, Regional Collections Advisor.
The Collections Trust website has a huge selection of free downloadable collections care resources.
The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) has a comprehensive set of free downloadable resources available on their website. This includes comprehensive guidance on the care of objects and collections which covers:
- Archaeological collections
- Ceramics and glass
- Electronic media
- Fine art
- Furniture, wooden objects and basketry
- Indigenous collections
- Industrial collections
- Leather, skin and fur
- Metals
- Musical instruments
- Natural history collections, feathers, quills, ivory and bone
- Paper and books
- Photographs
- Plastics and modern materials
- Stone and plaster
- Textiles and costumes
The conservation department at National Museums Liverpool is responsible for the care, conservation and technical research of objects in the service’s collections. Their website is a wonderful source of useful information and you can also contact subject specialists with enquiries.
If you need to find a professional conservator to help you then look at ‘Find a Conservator…’ on the ICON website which provides a direct link to the Conservation Register
The Preservation Advisory Centre at the British Library (now closed) produced a number of collections care advice sheets which can be downloaded for free here
Guidelines for the Care of Larger and Working Historic Objects was published by the Association of British Transport and Engineering Museums (ABTEM) in 2018
The Museum of London has a helpful set of collections care e-learning resources on their website which includes handling museum objects; introduction to museum pests; packing museum objects for storage and packing museum objects for moving.
The Hazards in Collections eTool provides detailed information on the most common hazards found in mixed collections
Museums Galleries Scotland have excellent collections care advice on their website
The Association of Independent Museums (AIM) have a set of free downloadable ‘Success Guides’ on their website which include Successful Collections Care, Successful Basic Interventive Conservation and Successfully Managing Archives in Museums
