Twenty Years of Conservation
Improvements through CAP
University of Northern Iowa Museum | CAP Year: 1990 |
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Museum was founded in the late nineteenth century with geology, zoology and art collections amassed by staff members, and by the 1990s had grown to include biological, historical and anthropological collections from around the world. In 1990, the first official year of the CAP program, the staff at the University of Northern Iowa Museum applied for the assessment to address their institutional concerns. The assessment was conducted by Minnesota-based objects conservator Paul Storch, who has conducted CAP assessments throughout the past twenty years.
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1990 Temporary Gallery |
2009 Temporary Gallery |
Collections Manager Kim Taylor says that the biggest improvement to take place as a result of the CAP recommendations was the addition of five additional staff members, to help the museum to achieve its collections and educational goals. In addition to the director, a full-time collections manager and secretary were added, along with a part-time exhibit preparator, education coordinator, and public affairs coordinator. The increase in staff has led to improvements in the quality and intellectual content of the in-house exhibits as well as the management of the collection. Another achievement was the creation of a temporary gallery space to house both outside exhibits and those produced in-house.
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1990 Storage for Shells |
2009 Storage for Shells |
A year after their CAP assessment, the University of Northern Iowa Museum was successfully re-accredited by AAM. Taylor, who has been with the museum since 2005, can see the value that the CAP report has had, both then and now. "It’s a very valuable document to refer to for years to come. Looking at it twenty years later, I see what has been accomplished, but also some of the same problems we still need to work on." But with CAP recommendations still a part of their long-range plan, collections problems and challenges are sure to be addressed and overcome in the future.
Thanks to Kim Taylor for her help with this article.
Photos Courtesy of University of Northern Iowa Museum
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