CAP’s 20th Anniversary
Celebration Continues

An article about the 20th anniversary of the Conservation Assessment Program has been published in the Spring 2010 issue of the American Association of State and Local History’s (AASLH) History News magazine. Check your copy of the magazine or order a copy at www.aaslh.org/historynews.htm to learn about the ways in which former CAP participants have used their CAP report recommendations to achieve standards, best practices, and important institutional goals at their museums.

Be sure to visit the CAP booth at the AASLH annual meeting in Oklahoma City, September 22 – 25, 2010. CAP staff will also be presenting sessions on the program at the August 5 annual meeting of the Association of African American Museums in Pittsburgh, PA, and at the September 16 annual meeting of the Mountain Plains Museum Association in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) is a non-competitive technical assistance program that provides general preservation assessments to small and mid-sized museums. This general assessment consists of a broad study of the policies, procedures and environmental conditions affecting the care and preservation of collections and sites. Organizations located in a historic building (50 years or older) may also qualify for an assessment by a historic preservation building assessor. The CAP assessment process helps museum professionals better understand and improve their institutions’ policies and procedures, learn conservation and historic preservation best practices, and forge relationships with conservators and preservation architects. The resulting CAP report can help develop strategies for improved collections care, long-range planning, staff and board education, and fund-raising.

In 2010, 106 museums in 40 states were selected to participate in CAP. The participants were announced on May 6, 2010; to view the entire list of current CAP participants, visit www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP/10recipients.html.

To be added to the CAP application mailing list, or for more information, please contact CAP staff at cap(a)heritagepreservation.org or 202-233-0800. CAP is administered by Heritage Preservation and supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Conservation Assessment Program Advisory Committee

In April, the Conservation Assessment Program Advisory Committee met and welcomed new members, Harrison Goodall, Architectural Conservator, Conservation Services and Ms. Anne McGuire, President, McGuire Igleski & Associates, Inc. To see a list of all the members, click here.