This really depends on your collection space and what disasters you are preparing for. I concentrate on water disasters. I am in West Virginia at the confluence of 2 rivers so we will flood. But with that said, a lot of the other disasters we encounter deal with water, like storm damage, fire damage, and even simple facility failures (like sprinkler systems). Since we plan on full evacuation of one exhibit, I had specialty boxes built with cavity packing, photographs, and exterior labels already prepared. This allows me to remove those collections from the cases fast but safely. These are the plastic impregnated cardboard because when I first used them, it was still raining and it made the standard Hollinger Box hard to use. I love the really thin, plastic painter's tarps that you can buy in the painting section of the hardware store. They are small to store, but large to cover. These can be taped to the walls to channel dripping water away while also being able to wrap objects. I also have a stash of headlamps (with rechargeable batteries) and work lights that are hybrid (can plug in or use rechargeable batteries). Collections exhibit spaces can be dark and it is nice to bring in additional lighting to help see what you are doing. Other items I have are 4' & 6' ladders, extension cords, power drills (battery), small pry bars (our acrylic vitrines adhere to the painted case at times), multi-head screwdrivers, various tapes, rolls of stretch wrap (4" wide and 18" wide) to wrap boxes or other packaging, and write in the rain documents to document what is going on during the event (with plastic clipboards). Since I plan to be in water, I thought that was good to ensure stability of the paper if I water coming from overhead.
I have a separate location to store my disaster supplies but for archival supplies and gloves, I keep my brand-new ones with my disaster supplies and then remove the old ones from my disaster supplies. This rotation ensures that I have viable supplies in the event of a disaster, and it is a wise use of money. Most of what I have in my disaster cache, I use on a regular basis. I just have some of it pulled aside so I have a one-stop-shop when I need these supplies in a hurry. I have multiple exhibits in multiple buildings and the first time I had to really respond to a water leak, I was running between 3 buildings and setting off multiple alarms because I responded at 9:00pm.
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Michael Hosking
Museum Curator/Acting Integrated Resources Program Manager
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
P. O. Box 65
485 Fillmore St.
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Desk Phone: 304-535-4047
Cell Phone: 304-582-0086
I am a current participant of the GOAL Leadership Academy. Ask me about the program!
Original Message:
Sent: 2/27/2023 2:32:00 PM
From: Rachel Fugate
Subject: Collections Care Supply List?
Good afternoon all,
I took on my current position about six months ago, and am heading into my first cycle of budgeting. I've put together a list of basic supplies I think we should have on hand that differs from our emergency kits (e.g. archival tissue, micro pens, blue board, ethafoam, mylar sleeves...). I am hoping that someone out there knows of and/or has a supply list for their department I can compare and ensure I have not forgotten anything important.
If you have a more comprehensive list of supplies, that's also welcome. A larger list will help me to advocate for funding and educate my colleagues and university partners.
Thank you in advance!
Rachel Fugate
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Rachel Fugate
Collections Manager/Registrar
Lehigh University Art Galleries
Bethlehem, PA
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