Heritage Preservation 2004 Annual Meeting Focuses on Heritage Health Index

Larry Reger presents Robert Martin with a copy of Caring for Your Family Treasures.

The meeting was held November 19 at the Sumner School in Washington, D.C. Heritage Preservation President Lawrence L. Reger introduced the survey’s preliminary findings, explaining that the cultural heritage field has many anecdotes about why collections care is needed, but there have never been any hard nationwide facts until now.

A First Look at Heritage Health Index Results
The preliminary results announced at the meeting were based on 2,677 surveys completed. The briefing by Kristen Overbeck Laise, Director of the Heritage Health Index, gave a sample of the information and analysis the survey results will ultimately offer. Full results and recommendations will be published in spring 2005.

Ms. Laise briefly outlined the sampling methods and survey development process of HHI. She then presented preliminary statistics on various survey questions. Although the results shared at the annual meeting were preliminary and did not include all survey respondents, they highlight areas that Heritage Preservation will analyze further. For example:

• Two-thirds of respondent institutions care for six or more types of collections, yet only one quarter have dedicated, paid collections care staff on site.
• One third of respondents do not use temperature controls, one third do not control light levels, and almost half do not use humidity controls.
• About 60 percent cite a need or urgent need for environmental controls for temperature and humidity.
• Only 26 percent of responding institutions have a current, written emergency/disaster plan that includes collections, and of those only 62 percent have staff trained to carry out the plan.

The Heritage Health Index has gathered some of the first national data on digital preservation across all types and sizes of collecting institutions and found that 37 percent of institutions' conservation/preservation mission or program includes the responsibility to preserve digital collections.

Dr. Robert Martin, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, spoke about HHI’s goal of helping cultural institutions pay attention to the condition of collections and increase the priority given to their care, as well as providing solid information for decision-makers and funders. Statistical analysis of the state of the nation’s collections will supplement the anecdotal evidence already available. “We need good stories, but we also need good data,” he said. Dr. Martin also encouraged Heritage Preservation members to work together to develop heritage tourism.

What the Elections Mean for Cultural Institutions

John Hammer, left, looks on as Anita Difanis holds up a sign with the numerical representation of the deficit.

Mr. Hammer said that the Senate was most affected by the election; four supporters of cultural heritage have retired, three of whom were replaced by former House members who are fiscal hardliners. As a result, cultural heritage funding will be more of an uphill battle in the Senate. In the House, several moderate Republicans who had been reliable supporters of the arts and humanities retired. Mr. Hammer noted that funding for most domestic programs in FY 2005 will be affected by an across-the-board cut.

Ms. Difanis predicted that more proposals for tax cuts will be pressed in the 109th Congress. The proposal to permanently repeal the estate tax would have a significant impact on nonprofits, and it would be a double whammy for art museums, which often receive stocks, cash, and art acquisitions from heirs. If there is no estate tax, the heirs would not be forced to liquidate assets and might decrease their gifts to museums. It would also result in less revenue for the federal government, which in turn would probably cut money to programs such as IMLS.

Two initiatives that Ms. Difanis would like to see pass are IRA rollovers, which would enable people to pass their IRAs directly to charities, and the Artists Fair Market Deduction Bill, which would allow artists to deduct from their taxes the value of their own art donated to cultural institutions.

Ellen Holtzman of the Luce Foundation, right, at the annual meeting during a break.

Jane Long gave an update on the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, including the New York Alliance for Response Forum, held October 27, 2004, and the disaster response networks forming from the first three forums. She also talked about future projects for the Task Force, including updating Resources for Recovery, and response to the 2004 hurricane season, including distribution of a tip sheet for saving family treasures. For the Task Force report in verse, click here!

Kate Marks reported on the 2004 Conservation Assessment Program grants and progress of the 2005 applications. In 2004, Heritage Preservation awarded 118 CAP grants to museums in 26 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All eligible applicants received a grant, for a total amount of $835,600.

Jill White reported on Save Outdoor Sculpture!, including the traveling exhibit Preserving Memory, which is closing after visiting 54 communities over three years. Programming in conjunction with conservation treatment for two sculptures from the NEA Art in Public Places project will take place when the treatments are finished. Work continues on 18 grants in the Conservation Treatment Award program, and SOS! continues to receive requests from Girl Scout troops wishing to earn the SOS! Patch.

Moira Egan gave an update on external relations, including a new focus on developing membership, fund-raising, publicizing the HHI survey results, and possibly launching a new program to identify and conserve public murals.