Improving Shelving to House Glass and Ceramics Collections

FAIN: PG-50813-10

Dyer Library Association (Saco, ME 04072)
Jessica Skwire Routhier (Project Director: May 2009 to April 2010)

Funding supports the purchase of storage furniture to rehouse collections of 17th- to 20th-century glass and ceramics. The objects are from Europe and China as well as locally made and are used in scholarly research and educational and public programming on Maine folk art.

Following recommendations made in the Saco Museum Conservation Assessment Reports (completed June 2008), the Saco Museum will replace unstable and deteriorating shelving in its room dedicated to glass and ceramics storage. The new shelving, designed and manufactured by Systematics, Inc., will be made of powder-coated metal and will be of a durability and quality appropriate for museum collections. Shelf height will be easily adjustable, allowing the museum to accommodate a variety of objects, and space within the room will be maximized in order to leave room for the movement and addition of collections. Reintegrating the collections objects into storage will allow museum staff to move forward with the ongoing goal of fully documenting the collection as a whole.