Conservation Science Research on the Establishment of Sustainable Collection Management and Museum Environment
Research period：2017.10-2023.3
SONODA Naoko
Keywords
Museum environment, collection management, conservation science
Objectives
This museum, taking advantage of its special roles and features as a research institute with a museum function, supports fundamental and applied studies in conservation science. The studies undertaken for tangible collection include the following: development of a program that efficiently analyzes data related to the museum environment such as insect trap investigation and temperature/humidity monitoring; improvement of exhibition and/or storage environments and their verification based on results of data analysis; development and application of non-chemical insecticidal measures; storage re-organization to conserve space and improve storage condition: , development of conservation and restoration techniques for cultural properties, including measures for use in cases of emergency.
This study will be conducted to further deepen earlier research results and to prepare a basis of sustainable collection management and conservation environment that satisfies social needs of the 21st century, for which further environmental consideration is fundamentally necessary. The targets of this study are both tangible collections and visual materials, although a new axis for the study is also included: presenting conservation conditions and guidelines that are applicable and practical not only for large-scale museums or other facilities but also for small-scale museums or for individual collectors constrained by equipment, human resource, and budget limitations. Furthermore, the importance of conservation and access for collection in light of social needs of the 21st century will be analyzed and reconsidered.
Research Results
This inter-university research project was planned to be conducted from October 2017 to March 2021, but was postponed two years due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the research period, discussions were held based on presentations by each researcher in line with their expertise and awareness of the issues with a focus on global trends. Presentations topics include the following: museum environment surveys such as insect trap investigation and temperature/humidity monitoring, insecticide treatments that do not use chemical agents, countermeasures against insect damage in Japan after WWII, problems faced by small-scale facilities, conservation condition surveys of movie films, damage caused by the earthquake in northern Osaka and the response, and examples of sustainable storage facilities in the Netherlands and Denmark. In 2020, the National Museum of Ethnology and its partner the Japan Society for the Conservation of Cultural Property held an online workshop titled “Countermeasures against COVID-19 in Museums.” Case reports were delivered at the workshop on the following facilities that were closed and then opened during the COVID-19 pandemic: National Museum of Ethnology, Nara National Museum, Kyushu National Museum, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, and the Center for Historical Social Science Literature of Hitotsubashi University. An edited video was posted on the Japan Society for the Conservation of Cultural Property’s website and was accessed by Japanese researchers outside Japan.
In addition, several workshops were held outside the National Museum of Ethnology to form a common platform for the practice of conservation science among the joint researchers. The workshops were held at the National Film Archive of Japan Sagamihara Conservation Center and Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in 2018, the Imperial Household Agency Shosoin Repository and Nara National Museum in 2019, and the Kyushu National Museum in 2022.
The social background surrounding museums is changing. When the inter-university research project started, an issue was how to develop the museum environment in a sustainable manner while taking into consideration the conservation of collections. This issue has become more serious in recent years by soaring global energy prices. Another problem is how to conduct proper collection management while prioritizing infection prevention measures. The joint research provided an opportunity to share experiences and challenges in dealing with these issues and to deepen the knowledge of each researcher.