Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. ISO 11108 Prime Archival Paper 2. RE: ISO 11108 Prime Archival Paper 3. RE: question about conservation lab tours 4. RE: question about conservation lab tours 5. RE: Lead Exposure Hazard ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Helen Evans Posted: Wednesday August 19, 2026 6:24 AM Subject: ISO 11108 Prime Archival Paper Message: Antalis has discontinued Prime Archival paper (ISO 11108), and I'm struggling to find a suitable replacement. So far, I can only find compliant paper in A4, which is too small for our requirements. We're ideally looking for A0 sheets. Does anyone know of a European supplier that offers this? Many thanks, Helen Helen Evans Konservator och Projektledare Avdelningen för bevarande och foto Nationalmuseum Box 16176, SE-103 24 Stockholm Telephone +46(0)767215518 <tel:+46(0)767215518> [email protected] <[email protected]> www.nationalmuseum.se <http://www.nationalmuseum.se/> Sveriges konst- och designmuseum Sweden's museum of art and design 2.From: Lesley Jones Posted: Wednesday August 19, 2026 8:24 AM Subject: RE: ISO 11108 Prime Archival Paper Message: Hello Helen, Our range of Premier Archival Photokraft papers comes in A0 size (840x1200mm) in a range of weights: Archival Acid Free Conservation Paper | CXD International <https://www.cxdinternational.com/paper-materials/archival-paper/> Please email us with details of the quantity and we will provide shipping costs - [email protected] Best wishes, Lesley ------------------------------ Lesley Jones Sales Manager Conservation by Design Bedford United Kingdom ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 08-19-2026 04:54 From: Helen Evans Subject: ISO 11108 Prime Archival Paper Antalis has discontinued Prime Archival paper (ISO 11108), and I'm struggling to find a suitable replacement. So far, I can only find compliant paper in A4, which is too small for our requirements. We're ideally looking for A0 sheets. Does anyone know of a European supplier that offers this? Many thanks, Helen Helen Evans Konservator och Projektledare Avdelningen för bevarande och foto Nationalmuseum Box 16176, SE-103 24 Stockholm Telephone +46(0)767215518 [email protected] <[email protected]> www.nationalmuseum.se <http://www.nationalmuseum.se/> Sveriges konst- och designmuseum Sweden's museum of art and design 3.From: Martin O'Brien Posted: Wednesday August 19, 2026 8:25 AM Subject: RE: question about conservation lab tours Message: Susie, I felt the frustration in your post and share it! Here's a possible solution: Videos are a wonderful way to satisfy the public's curiosity for seeing conservation in action and getting an explanation that it's not just 'manual labor' but a complex thought process like a doctors diagnosis. Your library might consider making a video of you and some highlights of treatments as well as ways for young people to study conservation. The video could be part of the regular museum/library tour, thus freeing you from so many interruptions which delay and possibly jeopardize treatments. VIPS may still request to see 'the real thing' so this may not totally eliminate tours, but significantly reduce them. The National Park Service was featured on YouTube in some videos made by Adam Savage. I thought they were wonderful. I've been a private practice conservator for 40 years now and have strong feelings about interruptions and other time wasting issues. At some point putting a conservation lab on tour turns conservators into 'interpretive staff' such as tradespeople in a living history museum. Interpreters, like docents and tour guides provide information rather than the physical work product of a conservator, mount maker or preparator/art handler. One cannot expect objects to be conserved efficiently and safely when conservators' work is interrupted. Hopefully your management is aware of the inherent dangers in a conservation lab. I wear PPE most of the day. My lab/studio is not safe for visitors. Also, would your management want staff meetings, acquisition/deacquisition processes and all other administrative functions to be on tour? As a private practice conservator for 40 years now, I believe tours and other interruptions are a financial drain and I still struggle with controlling them. Western civilization has gotten so far away from making things and working with our hands that the general public, as evidenced by this discussion, hungers for the chance to see 'how the sausage is made.' I, like others in this discussion, love sharing what I do. I'm still passionate about it and believe others can find joy in this occupation. I can be my own worst enemy when it comes to interruptions, so please accept my apologies if anything above sounds accusatory or rant-like. Good luck! ------------------------------ Martin O'Brien PA-AIC Wooden Artifact Conservator in Private Practice Winston Salem, NC 336-773-1334 ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 08-17-2026 08:50 From: Susan Cobbledick Subject: question about conservation lab tours Dear All--I work in a library that has routinely given tours to the public, and these tours have included a stop inside the conservation lab where I talk about my work. In the past year, the number of tours has increased significantly from 1 or 2 per month to 4 or 6 per month.I have asked management to remove the lab from many of these tours, as they have started to disrupt the work of the lab. I am getting a lot of pushback.Would you all please let me know what the practices in your institutions are? Do you allow any tours through your labs? If so, how many?I have told my managers that it is unusual to allow tours at all, let along one or 2 per week.Thanks in advance!Susie CobbledickBook ConservatorMissouri Botanical Garden Library 4.From: Valinda Carroll Posted: Wednesday August 19, 2026 10:41 AM Subject: RE: question about conservation lab tours Message: Hi Susie, I have worked in a few labs that had a wide range of tour options. Like Beth Doyle, I always view it as a great opportunity to raise the profile of the conservation profession. There are times when it can be disruptive, but most colleagues are respectful about scheduling tours in advance. One institution had weekly "behind-the-scenes" tours; these were scheduled for a specific day and time, so the lab would plan its activities around the tour that day. There were occasional tours outside of that schedule, such as Elderhostel, but there was always advance notice for those programs. The lab was in a separate facility a short distance from the historic area. At another large institution, conservation did not enjoy such a high profile; the lab was in an off-site storage facility outside of DC, so lab tours were infrequent. Sometimes, the small onsite swing space in the museum would be included in tours, and that could be disruptive to our onsite work, while also not being very informative (because it was a bare-bones space compared to the "real" lab). At another institution, the lab was designed for public interpretation. In practice, this meant being on display all the time through glass walls. Tours could take place in the adjacent conservation gallery without entering the lab at all. If the tour was arranged through the librarians or curators, then I always had advance notice of lab tours. A few times per year, there would be a museum studies class or archives class that arranged the tour with me specifically to see the conservation lab (rather than the lab being one of many things to see behind the scenes). Interns and technicians from other labs the region would also schedule their tours directly with the conservator. That said, there were other people (really only one person) who would show up unannounced in the lab with disruptive popup tours. There was a pull-out elastic stanchion in part of the lab that could be used to prevent people from getting in the way of treatment work, but the person leading the tour would not necessarily pull it out. We have giant windows to look into the Indiana State Library lab, without the conservation gallery for interpretation. If I don't have advance notice, the group will stand in front of the windows outside the lab for their tour. If I'm able to stop my work for the tour, then I will invite them into the lab (these are often VIPs). There's no set tour schedule at the moment, but there was a set schedule during the State Library's bicentennial program last year. In the past, we have had specific programs for homeschoolers and Girl Scouts (advance notice), as well as tours for various state agencies. With advance notice, I can usually tailor the tour to the needs of the group; larger group tours must be arranged in advance to ensure that there are staff covering public service desks during the tour (tours are led by our librarians). As with other labs, there will be a small number of tours arranged directly with the conservator (or the Rare Book and Manuscript Division) for museum studies and archives classes from local universities. Without knowing the layout of your lab, I can only recommend that you work with the people arranging the tours to create a schedule of set days of the week or times of day; then you can plan your work around the tour schedule. If it's possible for visitors to look into the lab from the outside, then "talking points" for tour leaders will allow them to discuss your work without interrupting you. I would emphasize that advance notice to enter the lab is also required for the safety of visitors. You would not want to risk their being exposed to conservation lab hazards, such as fine particulates, harmful solvents, toxic pigments, or mold. Valinda Carroll Conservator Indiana State Library 140 N. Senate Ave., Rm. 432 Indianapolis, IN 46204 [email protected] <[email protected]> 317-447-1951 ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 8/17/2026 8:50:00 AM From: Susan Cobbledick Subject: question about conservation lab tours Dear All-- I work in a library that has routinely given tours to the public, and these tours have included a stop inside the conservation lab where I talk about my work. In the past year, the number of tours has increased significantly from 1 or 2 per month to 4 or 6 per month. I have asked management to remove the lab from many of these tours, as they have started to disrupt the work of the lab. I am getting a lot of pushback. Would you all please let me know what the practices in your institutions are? Do you allow any tours through your labs? If so, how many? I have told my managers that it is unusual to allow tours at all, let along one or 2 per week. Thanks in advance! Susie Cobbledick Book Conservator Missouri Botanical Garden Library 5.From: William Shepherd Posted: Wednesday August 19, 2026 1:18 PM Subject: RE: Lead Exposure Hazard Message: Hello Heather, I don't know how easily lead transfers from stained glass, but I do buy my D-Wipes from stained glass suppliers so there must be enough of a concern, at least during the fabrication stage. Adding a sheet of polycarbonate or similar may change the look of the display a bit but to protect patrons from themselves and an added bonus of protecting the piece from damage seems reasonable. Depending on how the stained glass is displayed it may not cause a drastic visual change. One suggestion I have is if you go ahead, make the barrier easily removeable (by staff). This will make life much easier for any preservation/conservation staff when they need to access it. ------------------------------ William Shepherd (He/Him/His) [email protected] Museum Collections Officer - Swift Current Museum Swift Current, SK, Canada ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 08-17-2026 16:00 From: Heather Jackson Subject: Lead Exposure Hazard Good Afternoon, I was forwarded an email from a patron regarding a large stained glass window (creation date 1957) that is on permanent display in our galleries. They are concerned with the possiblity of lead exposure to children with this piece, as it is 115.5" in height, children can easily touch this piece as they walk by. This patron being an Industrial Hygenist is aware of certain risks and statistics pertaining to lead exposure for children and are recommending that we cover the piece in polycarbonate. Is this a common protocol, covering lead in polycarbonate? Does anyone have experience dealing with similar lead issues within a collection? Any information or suggestions would be welcome. Thank you, Heather ------------------------------ Heather Jackson Collections Manager Flint Institute of Arts Flint United States ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to https://community.culturalheritage.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=d16eaa87-0f69-494b-9f2f-303dbc1222e1&sKey=fab9aa4f27a04c5d876e&GroupKey=757a8f16-505f-4323-8e74-e376757aa9f7.
