Conservation treatments

Remedial conservation is essential for the long-term survival and accessibility of the archive collections.

7.1 At Lancashire Archives a trained and qualified archive conservator carries out remedial conservation work and conservation treatments. Work is undertaken in accordance with health and safety requirements and appropriate risk assessments, and following nationally recognised ethical and technical standards – especially BS 4971:2017 Conservation and care of archive and library collections, and the Institute of Conservation's Professional Standards and Code of Conduct 2014.

7.2 Archive conservators carry out condition surveys and audits using the Benchmarks in Collection Care assessment tool to inform the direction of conservation work. By auditing current practice, and identifying archives likely to deteriorate because of chemical or mechanical damage, we can determine future conservation priorities.

7.3 We prioritise the treatment of individual items depending on user demand, the context of the item within the collection, or its physical condition.

7.4 We assess material before undertaking conservation work in order to determine the most appropriate treatment.

7.5 We carry out reversible remedial conservation treatments with the minimum of intervention in order to retain the integrity and authenticity of the item. The future storage format, storage location, and anticipated use of the item also influence the level of treatment applied.

7.6 We record all conservation treatments and examinations through condition reports, and include photographic documentation where appropriate.

7.7 We use the CALM archive management system to record information about the physical condition of archives, and are working towards incorporating conservation requirements and treatment documentation there also.