Mellon Conservation Documentation Survey

In Spring 2008 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation launched a study of the ways in which institutions use digital technology to record conservation documentation. Some museums do this within a collections management system (CMS) or are developing systems or modules that work with the CMS. Others may not have a CMS and manage the documentation independently, whether by design or circumstance.

This study is set within the context of a larger project assessing the challenges, opportunities and implications of digital documentation, and therefore benefits from a survey of conservation departments worldwide about the specific tools and procedures they are using to manage conservation documentation in digital form.

The survey is now closed, but a PDF of the survey instrument is available for review.

Goal of the survey:

The goal of the study will be to use the information gathered to encourage and assist in the development or improvement of systems that can be more responsive to the needs of conservators; and to inform the community about any such developments already under way.

All who document objects, analysis, treatments and other processes in museum, library, or archive conservation and science departments, or who use such documentation in their work, were invited to complete this survey.

A report on the findings will be available by the end of the year.

Any questions on this project should be directly addressed to: David Green or Rachel Mustalish