Monday, September 17, 2001
By HAMZA HENDAWI The Associated Press
JERUSALEM -- At Jerusalem's most bitterly contested religious shrine, there's now one more issue in dispute -- renovations at the two hilltop mosques. The Muslims who control the site, which they call Haram as-Sharif, say extensive digging at the compound in recent months has created more prayer room for worshipers and has not harmed anything of historical value. full story:
Alarm as bookworms devour historic museum collections
BY DALYA ALBERGE, ARTS CORRESPONDENT
BEETLES, worms and lice are causing such damage to historic manuscripts and other objects that the British Library has organised a major conference to try to find a solution. Moths, flees, booklice, woodlice and termites are among bugs that thrive on organic matter. Entire objects — even entire collections — have been lost in museums and libraries. Silverfish have ruined an 1880s leather-bound arts and crafts book and left gaping holes in wallpaper designed by William Morris. Moths have eaten textiles while silverfish, along with booklice, have devoured a number of 19th-century watercolours. The gelatine on a collection of 100-year-old photographs proved so tasty that silverfish ate the entire archive, leaving behind just the bare paper. The situation is worsening because museums and libraries have not only cut down on cleaning, they have also stopped fumigating their collections. Global warming and central heating enable the pests to survive winter. The head of conservation at the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, Robert Child, who advises the National Trust and historic collections worldwide on pest control, said the problem was extremely serious as “all damage is irreversible”. The extent of the losses is unknown as public collections tend to keep quiet about them, he said. Vanessa Marshall, director of the National Preservation Office at the British Library, said that pests such as silverfish and beetles “enjoy a nice meal”. Their activities create worm- shaped holes and there are manuscripts that now resemble a game of snakes and ladders, she said. The bugs particularly relish gelatine in the glues of older books and the modern equivalent of rabbit glue, wheat starch paste. “They live on it,” she said. “They then lay their eggs and it’s an ongoing problem.” The damage is so alarming that around 150 conservators, curators and archivists from libraries, museums and historic houses in Europe, South America and Australia will be attending the three-day conference — A Pest Odyssey: No Collection is Safe from Pest Attack — at the British Library from October 1. It is organised in collaboration with English Heritage and the Science Museum. Dr Marshall said they wanted “to expose the silent creatures. Pests are a major cause of deterioration of collections worldwide.” Museums used to fumigate their collections every six months, until they discovered that insecticides were damaging the objects they were trying to protect. Mr Child warned: “Nature used to be on our side with cold winters and cold museums and libraries. Now, with mild winters and central heating, a lot of the insects are finding life more comfortable. “The same pests tend to occur throughout the world. In this country, we’ve had occasional outbreak of termites. Tropical pests exist just as happily in colder climates.” Recent losses include important wooden sculptures and altarpieces in Guatamala City, destroyed by termites, and an entire collection of historic paintings of the Royal family in Antigua eaten by silverfish. The backs of the paintings were lined with new canvas; silverfish loved the glue and to get to it, they burrowed through the pictures. David Pinniger, a consultant entomologist who advises museums and historic houses, criticised those establishments that clean only the front-of-house areas, while leaving the rest “absolutely filthy”. Accountants are making short-term decisions to save money, he said: “In reality, they create all sorts of problems.” While the food industry faces prosecution if beetles are found in a box of biscuits, “there isn’t that same stick to beat people with” in the museum world — even though an object that has been in a collection for 200 years “won’t be there for another 200 years”, he said. Among various pest-control devices is the deep-freezing of objects, which kills insects. Another way of catching them and stopping them breeding is a sticky trap with a pheromone sex attractant. It is used for bugs such as moths. Mr Child said: “The males sniff the air and, thinking there’s a haven of free sex around the corner, rush round and get caught.” http://www.thetimes.co.uk/ From: "Peter Osborne" bcprotect@btinternet.com To: securma@xs4all.nl Subject: Terrorist Threat
Terrorist Threat and Reaction
In the light of recent events in America many cultural institutions and individuals around the world may feel there is little they can do within their own environment to provide any sort of positive assistance. However there may be a number of actions which can be taken to help individually and collectively. With regard to the protection and preservation of life and property, right now would be an opportune time for all institutions to assess or re-assess the action to be taken in the event of an emergency or disaster. This is an action within which every member of staff can participate. Institutions within major capital cities will need to be particularly critical in their planning and defined procedures whilst institutions within countries which could be at extreme risk, particularly in the Middle East, may well need to consider more drastic action such as re-locating both material and staff. Like other sections of the world's communities, we in the cultural sector should stand together in these troubled times ready to help one another however and whenever we can. We should all be ready to help those individuals and institutions who may suddenly find themselves in an unsettled and unfamiliar environment.
Peter Osborne Director Bureau of Cultural Protection From: Cheryl Maslin cmaslin@uclink.berkeley.edu Subject:
Re: Greece: ANCIENT ARTIFACTS STOLEN FROM VERGINA
Regarding the recent article below:
HOW TO SELL IF YOU WANT IT KEPT A SECRET
PARIS. Christie’s and Sotheby’s introduced private treaty sale departments during the 1990s, and now, with its new aggressive sales policy, Phillips is following suit, converting the brokerage business set up in 1997 by Simon de Pury and Daniella Luxembourg, now partners in their business. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart7275 Reply-To: museplan@erols.com Organization: Museum Services International Subject: [Fwd: Lessons Learned:
Prepare now for natural disasters
From: Lori Tomlinson No1Deevah@CS.COM Subject: Lessons Learned: Prepare now for natural disasters
Greetings listers!
It was a museum's nightmare come true today in Punta Gorda, Florida. After the bulk of tropical storm Gabrielle passed, our small, five-gallery museum flooded this morning. We are situated about a football field's length from Charlotte Harbor, with only a large municipal parking lot between us and the sea wall. The water came in so fast, that we were thigh-deep outside in water by the time we got all our sandbags in place. Luckily, we had prepared three times in the last three years for hurricane scares, so we were quick to action in raising large artifacts off the floor, removing items from low shelves and files from bottom cabinets, and unplugging power strips from outlets. I was very proud of how cool we, as a staff, remained, in part because we knew we had a plan.
The moral of the story is: if you don't have a natural disaster plan for yourself and your entire staff, develop one NOW. If you do have one, REVIEW IT periodically with your staffs. It really does make a difference in your response time. And if possible, have a contingency fund available to make up for lost admission revenue.
I guess some people will do anything to get new carpeting!
Lori Tomlinson Executive Director Florida Adventure Museum Punta Gorda, Fla. USA museum@sunline.net
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