Seminar : Disaster management, draft programme

•  View the draft Programme DST 2017
• If you wish to register for the seminar please contact Lyn Campbell.
• Cost : $75.00 per person.

Advance notice : Workshop, Disaster Salvage

A workshop organised by the Canterbury Disaster Salvage Team will be taking place at Christchurch Art Gallery in mid June-ish on best practise in the event of a disaster (as identified by the hands on workshop we had last year).  It will be dealing with preventive issues, good storage, and display. We are hoping to get as many areas covered as possible.

Flyer to follow with finalised dates and other information in the near future.

Guide – salvaging collections, a guide

Part 1 of a best practice guide in the event of a disaster for salvaging your collections.

This is a work in progress so if anyone has any further suggestions let me know.

Part 2 (March 2017).

Lynn Campbell

An Introduction to Caring for Victorian Photographs

An Introduction to Caring for Victorian Photographs

Thursday 19 – Friday 20 November 2015, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Canterbury Museum
Rolleston Avenue
Christchurch

$15 per person – to cover cost of materials
Bring your own lunch or buy at the Museum Cafe

Often the care of photographs is neglected due to a lack of knowledge about their proper care and storage. This seminar aims to address this by providing a basic overview of the most common photographic processes for nineteenth century images.

The seminar will be aimed at, but not limited to, small institutions with volunteer staff, or newcomers to the archival field, that have photographic collections as part of a wider archival collection. Some practical exercises will be included; specific conservation issues will not be covered.

Please think about any problems or issues you have, or might want to talk about and, if possible, bring along an example to look at. There’s no guarantee you will get definitive answers on the day but your hosts will try to find answers and get back to you.

Please contact Joanna Szczepanski if you have any further questions. joannas@canterburymuseum.com or 03 366 9429 ext 895

Run by Canterbury Museum and the Airforce Museum of New Zealand

Kaiapoi Museum

What happened to Kaiapoi Museum?
By Judith Taylor
Confusion, police eviction, the threat then reality of demolition – the Kaiapoi Museum people have had a shocking time.

An interesting article about the experiences of the Kaiapoi Museum post earthquake. If another natural disaster happens what learning can we take from this experience?

Canterbury Earthquake, 4 September 2010

The 7.1 earthquake that struck the Canterbury region was devastating and weeks after the aftershocks are still causing further damage to already frayed nerves of Cantabrians and compromised buildings. Like all of my colleagues within the Heritage sector I began to worry about the many other beautiful collections I know to exist within the Canterbury region and within days the record and archives, library and museum community within the Canterbury region were discussing the extent of damage their collections either had or had not incurred through an email listserv which most of the heritage groups in Canterbury belong to.

This earthquake was within the category of major earthquake capable of serious damage over large areas. So not only did we have the worry of our own personal safety but also that of those around us, our work environments and the wider community. Each disaster is unique and therefore needs to be treated as such. Here are some of the most important things I think most of us have learnt from this disaster which I would like to pass on.

• No salvage of any collection material can take place until the building has been inspected and is safe to enter. This can take days or even weeks and with every aftershock buildings may sustain further damage making this process one that may need to be assessed a number of times. This can be very frustrating and cause further distress if the collection is at risk
• An earthquake can cause damage to collection items in many ways ranging from books being tossed from their shelving, items being broken to buildings collapsing or be condemned. If buildings have not collapsed, there could be structural damage which could cause fires and further damage to collection items such as water damage from fire hoses or sprinklers
• Do not underestimate your reactions to seeing your collection scattered, damaged and possibly destroyed as this will have an enormous affect on you whilst you are dealing with the salvage process.
• You will be both physically and mentally exhausted and need to remember that everyone reacts in different ways during a situation like this
• Taking the time to ask others three very important words How are you? can really makes a difference
• The amount of time spent assessing, recording, and re-housing will determine the long term preservation of what items you have been able to salvage. It might take days to do this or it could take weeks, even months, depending on the size and condition of your collection
• Disaster planning is essential so don’t leave it until one occurs to start thinking about what to do. The most important aspect of a disaster plan is the assessment and management of risk with appropriate procedures and staff training in place. Lessons learnt then need to be incorporated into any future disaster plans

Eva Sullivan
Archivist Christchurch City Council

For further information on how to cope during an earthquake please visit,

Archives New Zealand, <http://www.archives.govt.nz/advice/current-projects-and-news/disaster-recovery-archives-and-records-canterbury-region>

Canterbury Disaster Salvage Team, <http://www.disalteam.co.nz/>