It was a real challenge for us when we started an active IPM program with a lot of "old timers" on our staff. For the most part, they have all come around and are now part of the solution of breaking bad habits and establishing a robust program to care for our collections.
Sarah's points are almost exactly what we did. Go slow and steady, find others that are willing to help and buy into what you are doing, and training, training, training! The other thing that we did was establish a set Policies and Procedures document regarding IPM issues (cleaning, eating, reporting and so on) that helped explain the 'whys' of what we were trying to do. That was a big help when we were really rolling things out. That and requiring EVERYONE to watch the Brooklyn Museum's video!!! It's fantastic and is always a good way to end a training session!! Good luck! Cynthia Cynthia S. Brenwall Conservator | NYC Municipal Archives 212.788.8639 | nyc.gov/records<https://www1.nyc.gov/site/records/index.page> ________________________________ From: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Lisa Bruno <lisa.br...@brooklynmuseum.org> Sent: Friday, June 28, 2024 1:45 PM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [PestList] IPM across departments CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Forward suspect email to ph...@oti.nyc.gov<mailto:ph...@oti.nyc.gov> as an attachment (Click the More button, then forward as attachment). Josie - I’ll second Sarah’s points. It can be a great team building experience. After cajoling and gentle reminders, we finally landed on producing a video, and we gathered staff volunteers from outside the art division. They had fun and it seemed to help encourage good behavior. The link to the video is below. A little dated... but fun. Lisa https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MBggDybOLTU ________________________________ From: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Sarah Anne Gordon <sgord...@artic.edu> Sent: Friday, June 28, 2024 1:19:22 PM To: pestlist@googlegroups.com <pestlist@googlegroups.com> Subject: Re: [PestList] IPM across departments Hi Josie, This is one of my favorite topics! There are so many approaches, and a lot can depend on the existing dynamics within your institution. Who is actually going to be the one to facilitate change: those in leadership roles or those doing the day-to-day work? Here are some general suggestions that I've found effective with a range of personalities: 1. Start small to feel out who your allies are and where you can link arms. For example, if you limit food and beverage in the galleries, housekeeping staff will have less work to do. 2. Approach existing practices with curiosity and understanding. Is this happening because there aren't enough staff? Running out of room in the dumpster? Someone thought it was a very clever solution for repurposing old materials? Stay as far away from pointing fingers as possible--pests are everywhere in our lives and it's almost never productive to say it's someone's fault. Whenever you have specific suggestions, come to the table with a potential alternative that could meet the same purpose. 3. In certain instances, you may find it helpful to make the problem more concrete when explaining why a change would be beneficial, as pests can seem kind of abstract if you're not focused on them. You could gather evidence of problematic pest activity, like food under furniture or evidence of rodents--for whatever reason, this ick factor seems to bring about the quickest changes. Mostly be patient and pick your battles, change takes time. Sarah On Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 11:23 AM 'Josie Sneed-Gilliam' via MuseumPests <pestlist@googlegroups.com<mailto:pestlist@googlegroups.com>> wrote: Hello all, Our museum staff has an understanding of IPM but the rest of the staff in the complex and guests are not always held to that standard. I recently took on responsibility for IPM at my institution and was asked for recommendations to reduce the pests. I plan to include collaboration with other departments and stricter expectations for our guests. Often, there is a rather lax approach to allowing food and drink in and around the galleries. There are also other concerns like the storage of old cardboard and landscaping along exterior walls. I'm worried about how to approach these issues. In order to achieve actual change, I'm going to have to disrupt many years of relaxed rules and bad habits. I was wondering if anyone could speak to collaborating with departments effectively and amicably when it comes to IPM implementation. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks very much. Josie Sneed-Gilliam -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:pestlist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. To view this discussion on the web visit https://link.edgepilot.com/s/1271b1a0/H0N6DL_8P06f-GQZZZ29sQ?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/BL3PR02MB893987983684363D1D46323DD5D02%2540BL3PR02MB8939.namprd02.prod.outlook.com<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/c91a4153/X8DWk-djAk_JPWqwbQHlkw?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/BL3PR02MB893987983684363D1D46323DD5D02%2540BL3PR02MB8939.namprd02.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email%26utm_source=footer>. -- Sarah A. 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