Collections Care Planning Similar to a general survey, this site visit examines the facility for long-term risks to the collection. Designed to assist staff prioritize collections needs, within a day the skeleton of a workable plan is completed. The visit starts with a staff meeting to discuss collections needs they have noticed. This is followed by a facility walk-through with five key staff members to identify problem areas. At the end of the visit, information gathered is collated and assembled into the outline of long range collections care plan.
Staff have one month to write a first draft for review and comments by the assessor.
A final draft should be completed in two months. Once a general survey has been completed, environmental controls are in place, and staff training ensures that the collection is well cared for, it is time to examine each object and establish a dated condition record. Specific object surveys provide a written condition report on each object that includes treatment priorities and proposed treatments. These surveys are useful in determining which collection item should be treated next or for raising funds for treatments. A complete list of site visits completed by Northern States Conservation Center staff is available on Helen Alten's resume.