Book reviews. Care and Conservation of Natural History Collections, by David Carter and Annette K. Walker

SOLEDAD TANCOFF

Collection Forum

Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.

Lugar: New York; Año: 2009 vol. 23 p. 46 - 47

0831-4985

CARE AND CONSERVATION OF NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS,1999, David Carter and Annette K. Walker. (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, GreatBritain, 226 pp.) There is a real need for specific publications in the field ofconservation of natural history collections, certainly in Latin America, where I workas a conservator, and this will be my viewpoint for this review.Natural history collections are probably the most neglected specialty inconservation in comparison with other areas like art objects, paper documents,ceramics, etc. So in this sense to have a book which gives a compilation of guidelinesfor the wide range of objects that compose these kinds of collections is alwayswelcome. In Latin America, the priorities and budgets regarding conservation ingeneral and natural history collections in particular, are difficult realities to dealwith.What we as conservators try to do, in general, is to work with the most updatedinformation and follow the ??directives?? in a ??theoretical way,?? trying to adapt themto our situation.This book is a very useful tool for museum staff (especially for collection managersand conservators) because one can find answers and solutions to everyday questionsin just one volume. In our countries, the discipline of conservation is still in adevelopmental stage, so it is very difficult to convince the authorities about thenecessity of having of having a decent library in addition to education and training.Usually the responsible party for collections follows the past practices of others(previous staff, other collection managers or conservators, etc.) without knowinghow appropriate those approaches really are.Since our basis for past actions was often flawed, having quality information foreach kind of collection is very much appreciated. This book is a reference that can beconsulted by subject area. Each chapter covers common significant aspects for eachkind of collection in a thorough and organized way.Some information, like general recommendations about storage, handling, fungalattack, etc. is repeated in many chapters, as if it was meant to be read separately. Itseems like the book is a summary of publications from different authors and thatmakes the reading to be a succession of concepts instead a progression of them. Forusers, it would be more effective if the book were more of a ??manual.?? That could beachieved by placing some chapters like ??collection environment?? and ??pestmanagement, prevention and control?? at the beginning, instead of at the end, andbringing together some information, already given separately in various chapters,such as adhesives, labeling, storage systems, handling recommendations, etc. Eachspecific chapter (mammals, plants, entomology, etc.) is very useful for the differentspecialties, but it becomes difficult to have a general approach when the informationis so fragmented.At major museums there may be a specialist for each collection, but usually, insmaller museums there is one person in charge of all kinds of natural historymaterials. In this sense, I think that a more holistic approach to care andconservation of natural history collections would be wise also. While some measuresare very simple and inexpensive to do, other directives and recommendations forspecial equipment; storage systems and storage materials given in the book are eithertoo expensive or unavailable in some countries.To know what is the best practice helps us to carry out potential actions closer to the ??ideal.?? This book is a great resource for conservators and I wish we would beable to have it translated to Spanish some day.?Soledad Tancoff, MuseoPaleontologico Egidio Feruglio, Av. Fontana, Trelew (U9100GYO), Pcia. Chubut,ArgentinaCollectionCollection Forum cofo-23-01-06.3d 19/11/09 15:59:07 46