Preservation Assessment of Three-Dimensional Collections

FAIN: PG-51100-11

San Mateo County Historical Association (San Mateo, CA 94402)
Dana Neitzel (Project Director: May 2010 to April 2012)

A general preservation assessment of a collection of more than 7,000 household items, costumes, tools, memorabilia, fine arts pieces, archaeological artifacts, and other materials that document the development of San Mateo County from prehistoric times through the eras of Spanish, Mexican, and American settlement.

The SMCHA 3-D Storage Preservation Assessment project addresses current and future storage conditions of three-dimensional collections of the San Mateo County Historical Association (SMCHA). Three-dimensional collections not currently used for telling the story of San Mateo County's history through exhibits are housed in three different collection rooms with very different physical and environmental conditions. Past work on collections has been done by staff and volunteers with varying degrees of collection management experience. Assessing what has been done correctly and where mitigation must be applied will be an important component of this project. This project will allow the curator to make informed decisions, based on recommendations by Conservator Thomas Fuller, as to immediate storage remediation. Additionally, it will provide the SMCHA with much needed information to set long-term goals for improvement.