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Moving Your Collection: A Midsize
Museum's Perspective
By Drew Talley, Registrar (photographs by Darryl A. Smith)
The California African American Museum (CAAM) recently reopened
after a 3.8 million dollar renovation to improve and update its
infrastructure, which lasted 18 months. Improvements included automated
remote monitoring HVAC system, CCTV security system, dry-pipe fire
suppression system, hardwood floor installation, new roof and automated
light dimmer system. CAAM is a midsize museum in Los Angeles funded
by the State of California with a 1.8 million dollar annual budget
and a 3,000-object collection. The Museum had to relocate its collection
during this time period and I will summarize how the museum was
able to safely move its permanent collection, during our renovation,
under less than ideal circumstances. These conditions included substantial
budget cuts and moving the collection during the demolition phase
of the renovation project.
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We began the process of moving the collection by contacting four
fine art packing companies, who we regularly used and that consistently
gave first-rate service, and asked them to submit an estimate for
our packing and storage needs. The bids were evaluated by the experience
of the packers, the amount of time and detail that went into analyzing
the move and the associated costs.
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Initially the Museum Registration staff
was to handle all the inventory control, however, due to State budget
cuts we lost our Assistant Registrar position and the packers had
to perform these duties. CAAM was charged an hourly wage fee for
labor and inventory control in addition to materials and trucking.
Five and a half months prior to the move I worked with the contractors
to determine which items would be crated for safely transporting
and storing the work. The criteria we used for deciding the packing
container was based on the fragility and size of the object. Most
of the artifacts designated for crates included fragile antique
furniture, rolled textiles, breakable contemporary art sculpture
and over-sized traditional African sculpture. Thirty crates were
created for the move and the remaining items were boxed or placed
in bin-boxes. I physically labeled all items with a visible accession
or loan number, which the packers used to correlate with their box
or crate numbers. I also placed the location numbers on the tags
for the move back into the facility. I then used the list generated
by the packers to update the new locations of the objects in our
collections database.
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The CAAM Registrar was the only staff member available to assist the
packers with the movement of the collection. Our Exhibits Preparation
department, who would typically assist in such a move, was heavily
involved with the demolition phase of the renovation, which unfortunately
occurred simultaneously with the collection move. Therefore, we had
to establish time
parameters for access to our shipping/receiving entrance and
had to create an alternative workspace for the packers so they would
not be exposed to the noise pollution, dust and diesel fumes associated
with demolition. We emptied out our accession room and set up the
packers there with tables. We also had to hire extra security to watch
over the packing process since there were other demolition contractors
on the premises. We were very fortunate that no damage occurred during
the transition. |
Considering the circumstances, I feel our collection move went very
well and would offer that flexibility is a very important aspect of
any decision requiring coordination of diverse disciplines (fine art
packers, registration, general contractors, etc.). Be prepared to
justify any additional costs associated with the move to your fiscal
department. I discussed the value and integrity of a museum collection.
Selecting the right packers for your museum's needs is essential to
insure the longevity and protection of the collection. The packers
we contracted spent nearly six hours assessing the collection several
months before the move, had a long list of credentials and submitted
recommendations for the type of packaging best suited for the collection
needs. Moving a collection is a huge undertaking for any institution
and must be coordinated well between all parties involved. I feel
confident in handling other collection management concerns now that
I have coordinated CAAM's collection move. |
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