CAP Helps a Museum Fly High

The Archives of American Falconry in Boise, Idaho, is surrounded by magnificent views that are both a boon and a challenge for the museum. A Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) grant helped them take advantage of its ridgetop situation overlooking the Boise valley while protecting its collections from light damage from the windows.

The Archives was founded in 1986 by the Peregrine Fund to preserve the history and heritage of the ancient sport of falconry. Their collections contain correspondence, photographs, falconry equipment, works of art, books and much more.

When the Archives decided to participate in CAP in 2001, they were in the process of raising the funding to construct a new building. They wanted their assessor to identify the problems in their current building in order to correct them in their new building.

Kathleen Orlenko, a conservator from Santa Clara, California, was selected to assess the collection. Kent Carnie, Director, chose Kathleen not only for her conservation expertise, but also because she is familiar with falconry and falconers. All CAP assessors must meet certain professional requirements to be eligible for the program. Ms. Orlenko's comments while on site and the subsequent report have proved invaluable to the museum. Mr. Carnie has maintained the relationship with her, and her expertise continues to benefit the museum.

Mr. Carnie said that the 2001 CAP grant has been "exceedingly valuable" to his organization, and he firmly believes that "every museum in the country should be applying for CAP and using the report as the foundation for future grant applications. CAP is too great an opportunity for any museum to ignore."

The new Gerald D. and Kathryn S. Herrick Collections Building was completed in September 2002 and incorporated many of Kathleen’s suggestions. Two large picture windows are in the Archives library/display room, so to preserve its archival integrity—and guided by Ms. Orlenko’s concerns for light in their earlier quarters—these north-facing windows are under a 10-foot overhang and have UV filtering glass. Taking a cue from the Getty Art Museum in Los Angeles, Mr. Carnie also arranged for an opaque “roller shade system” so that light input was cut a further 90 percent while preserving the view.

The museum staff also took Ms. Orlenko’s recommendations into consideration when designing storage areas. At her suggestion, the storage room is under separate thermostatic control. In addition, they built a special, dark storage area specifically for framed art, as they hope to expand their collection.

Mr. Carnie invited Ms. Orlenko out to tour the new facility on completion. Kathleen went from room to room measuring the light levels and found the shades did in fact block out 90 percent of the light. They were surprised, however, to discover an interior rare book room where the light levels were far too high. Light was coming in through a window in Kent’s office two rooms away, separated by glass walls and security windows. The addition of a roller shade in the office corrected the problem.

Ms. Orlenko’s CAP report was also the foundation for the Archives’ successful 2002 Conservation Project Support (CPS) application to the Institute for Museum and Library Services. They received more than $7,000 to purchase and install monitoring equipment in the archives area, provide protection for the book collection, remove detrimental mounts from the M.D. Stevens art collection, and provide proper storage for all art materials.

The museum staff hope to apply for more conservation grants in the future. Currently their conservation priorities include hiring an objects conservator to conduct a detailed survey of their collection of falconry equipment and converting an existing storage room into a cold storage room for their large collection of slides, film, and negatives.

The 2004 CAP applications will be mailed out on October 10, 2003, with a postmark deadline of December 1, 2003. To be added to the mailing list, e-mail khoffmann@heritagepreservation.org or call 202-634-0032. You may also download the application from www.heritagepreservation.org beginning October 10.

Captions, from top:

Beebe Mural: An 8x8-ft. oil painting af an east-face of the Rockies scene, including a hand-carved and painted peregrine falcon in pursuit of a carved blue-winged teal. This work, all by Canadian falconer-artist Frank L. Beebe, was produced under commission for the AAF by falconer-patron Pat Martin.

Archives: The new AAF "display" room.

Building: The Gerald D. and Kathryn S. Herrick Collections Building at The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho. The Archives of American Falconry occupy 40 percent of this 10,000 sq. ft., million dollar building, completed in September 2002.

Art Storage room: With increased art display opportunities, AAF holdings of falconry art are significantly expanding. This special, light-proof room houses framed works not on display.

To see previous Preservation Spotlights (formerly Preservation Projects of the Month), click here.

[Heritage Preservation home]