Local History

Access to Collections

This article originally appeared in Exchange, a newsletter published by the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Volume 24, Number 3, May/June 1982) It is the fourth in a series of articles titled Conservation Corner. The series features information about maintaining an adequate environment for the storage and exhibition of historical collections, employing proper collection care techniques, and recording and cataloging historical collections. This article was written by Tom McKay, retired local history coordinator for the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Every museum environment contains an active and often overlooked agent of deterioration: people. Museum collections, of course, exist for people, to use today and in the future. Unfortunately, people mishandling historic materials can cause damage in a moment that might not be sustained under years of environmental stress. Procedures for proper access to and handling of museum collections today will play a major role in the condition of museum collections the people of the future will inherit. Museum personnel who would preserve collections for the future must develop a "conservation conscience" in the handling of historic materials.

If historic collections are to have a use in society, the public must have access to them. To safeguard its collections, every museum should have a reasonable set of procedures governing access to them. The procedures should be prepared with attention to use by both researchers and general visitors.

Although some researchers are interested in artifact collections, the most frequent requests from researchers will be for access to manuscript and photographic materials. Regardless of the collection area, museum personnel should supervise access by researchers. Because every historical society's resources vary, this supervision may take different forms. Bringing requested materials out of storage for a researcher, accompanying him or her to a storage area, or temporarily removing an object from an exhibit are examples. For items that are particularly fragile or are frequently used, the museum may require researchers to use photocopies or microfilms of the original. Whatever the individual situation, the important principle is that the museum personnel supervise access.

A few basic rules should govern the researcher's access to collections. He or she should be required to fill out a simple form listing his or her name, address, subject of research, and the day's date. Allow no smoking, food or beverages, and apply this rule to both researchers and other visitors. Because ink can permanently stain historic materials, the museum may wish to restrict the researchers to the use of a pencil in notetaking. The museum should be alert to the heat generated by photographer's lights, and should require researchers who want to photograph parts of the collections to work in the presence of museum personnel.

Researchers often need access to more than one item at a time. The museum should provide a clean, flat table on which to work and locate it in an area that is not open to general tours. This is a precaution against theft or damage of exposed materials. Manuscripts and photographs not in immediate use should be returned to folders. All materials should be given to museum personnel for placement back in storage as soon as their use is completed. A jumble of objects or stacks of papers and photographs are invitations to damage and misplacement.

For several years museums have debated the educational benefits of allowing general visitors to handle collections. Though much maligned, the basic rule is still "don't touch." Some time ago, a museum prepared an exhibit with a slide presentation activated by a pushbutton, obviously a spot visitors were supposed to touch. Unfortunately, the museum painted the area around the pushbutton white. Within two weeks, the area was covered with grime. The area would not come clean and could not even be repainted until it was washed with harsh detergent that removed much of the original paint surface. What if this had happened to an object in the museum's collection? All people's hands carry dirt, oils and acids. The more that objects are handled, the greater the build-up of dirt and oils.

If a museum is committed to allowing visitors to handle objects for educational purposes, the parameters of this program must be clearly defined. This hands-on program should be limited exclusively to common objects for which the museum owns duplicates. The program should take place in an area segregated from the remainder of the museum exhibits. It should be absolutely clear that handling objects is restricted to this area. If the hands-on program appears to encourage visitors to handle other objects, it should be dropped. Remember that an object used by its original owners once a week in normal circumstances may be handled twenty times a day in a museum hands-on program. A decision to use an object this way is a decision to use it up.

Rules and restrictions will make many researchers and visitors feel uncomfortable. A friendly attitude and a smile on the part of the museum personnel will do much to dispel these feelings. The museum exists to serve the public. It should be willing to explain the reasons for its rules and the need for procedures that will extend the life of its collections for people in the future. It might even mention that its own personnel are obligated to use special caution when handling the collections. That is the subject of our next column.