MASTER. Preventive conservation strategies for protection of organic objects in museums, historic buildings and archives. Final report.

Abstract

The mainaim of the MASTER project was the development of an early warning dosimeter system for organic objects (EWO dosimeters) that could provide a relatively cheap and easy way for museums and other cultural heritage institutions, as a first step, to evaluate the quality of the environment they provide for organic materials. Two relatedaims of the MASTER project were to review existing preventive conservation strategies for organic materials and to develop a new and refined preventive strategy based on an early warning system. This work was carried out by reviewing preventive conservation literature with special reference to organic materials, questionnaires to heritage institutions and through an end-user workshop exploring the views of preventive conservation experts and end-users to influence strategic developments. By introducing this new preventive conservation strategy, the sustainable exploitation of cultural property can be enhanced.