Requirements for Becoming a CAP Assessor
Heritage Preservation's Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) is supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). CAP provides general conservation assessments for small museums. The goal of the assessment is to give the museum a basis on which to form plans and policies for the long-term care and preservation of its collections. By doing so, a museum establishes conservation as an integral part of its mission and will support it through policies and activities that reflect a commitment to collections care.
Heritage Preservation considers a general conservation assessment to be a broad study of museum policies, procedures, and conditions that relate to and affect collections care: museum staffing and training, policies and procedures concerning the use of collections, storage and exhibition conditions, and the museum environment, including the fabrication and condition of structures housing collections.
In the case of historic buildings, the proper care and preservation of the structure is an equally important consideration. Museums in historic structures will receive the on-site participation of both a collections and an architectural assessor. As the preservation needs of a historic structure and the collections are interrelated, this collaboration is vital to the assessors’ success. Generally, 70 percent of recipients require an architectural assessor.
CAP Assessors should have the following qualifications as recommended by the CAP Advisory Committee:
- evidence of conservation/preservation training
- at least five years of experience in the field
- experience conducting general assessments.
If you are interested in becoming a CAP Assessor, please submit an Assessor Information Sheet (found on the CAP Assessor web page), a resume, and an executive summary or list of recommendations from a previous general assessment that you have authored or co-authored.
Heritage Preservation must approve all assessors who participate in CAP.
Please contact the CAP staff at 202-233-0831 or cap@heritagepreservation.org if you have any questions.