If you’ve spent time in museums you’ve probably seen the terms preservation, restoration, and conservation used to describe how an artifact has been treated. All of these are processes to help ensure that a historical object continues to exist and which one is chosen depends on the condition of the object and its future use.
In archives, preservation is the most common process and generally the least intensive. Our main goal is to minimize future damage or deterioration. Sometimes it’s as simple as putting the object in a box and in a safe place, but it can get much more involved. Archival materials are generally transferred into boxes and folders that are specially designed to mitigate issues such as acidic paper, light sensitive inks and dyes, and metal oxidation and to provide proper support. Our safe space is also carefully designed to maintain consistent temperatures and humidity.
Restoration is a process that attempts to make the item look like new. Damaged areas are fixed, treatments are used to remove discoloration or stains, and new materials are added to replace missing bits. While this is most commonly done with art and furniture, it can also be done to books and documents. The video below shows the process of restoring a painting.
Conservation can be seen as a mix of preservation and restoration. Like with preservation, the goal is maintain the item in its current condition and like restoration, the goal is to repair damage. Items that go through a conservation process are usually unusable in their current condition, but need to be used. Conservation treatments are less extensive then restoration and seek to conserve as much of the original material as possible. All processes are well documented and anything that is removed is usually retained.
Want to learn more? Email Heidi to see examples of preservation and conservation in the archives and Special Collections. She's also happy to talk about on-campus preservation internship opportunities.