Preservation is not a single project but a continuous set of decisions about how an institution protects its collections over decades. Without a plan, those decisions are made reactively — after a leak, a pest outbreak or a failed loan inspection. A preservation plan turns them into priorities that can be scheduled, budgeted and reported on.

1. Start with a collection survey

You cannot prioritise what you have not assessed. A preservation survey looks at the collection as a whole — by storage area, material type or collection group — and records general condition, specific risks and urgency. It does not need to examine every object in detail; a structured sample can give a reliable picture of where the greatest needs are.

2. Assess risk, not just condition

Condition tells you what has already happened. Risk tells you what is likely to happen next. Common agents of deterioration include physical forces, theft and vandalism, fire, water, pests, pollutants, light and ultraviolet radiation, incorrect temperature and incorrect relative humidity, as well as custodial neglect such as lost records. Rating each risk by likelihood and impact helps direct limited resources to where they prevent the most damage.

3. Monitor the environment consistently

Temperature and relative humidity are among the most important factors for long-term stability, especially for organic materials such as paper, textiles, wood and paintings. Rather than aiming for perfect values, aim for stable, appropriate conditions that suit your materials and your building. Many institutions now refer to the guidance in the Bizot Green Protocol, which recommends a relative humidity range of 40–60% and a temperature range of 16–25°C for most mixed collections, while noting that sensitive objects may need tighter control.

Whatever targets you set, record readings regularly, keep the data, and review it — trends over months reveal problems that a single reading never will.

4. Document every conservation treatment

Each treatment should produce a record linked to the object: the condition before treatment, the reasons for it, the materials and methods used, the conservator responsible, and the condition afterwards, with photographs at each stage. Future conservators depend on this information to understand what has been done and to avoid treatments that conflict with earlier ones.

5. Schedule preventive tasks

Much preservation work is routine: checking pest traps, calibrating data loggers, inspecting storage areas, rotating light-sensitive objects off display, and reviewing objects flagged for follow-up. Putting these tasks on a schedule, with clear owners, prevents them from being postponed indefinitely.

6. Prepare for emergencies

An emergency plan should identify priority objects for salvage, contacts for staff and specialist services, the location of emergency supplies, and procedures for the most likely incidents in your building. Crucially, it depends on accurate location records: in an emergency, staff need to know exactly where priority objects are.

7. Protect the digital record as well

Digital records and images are part of the collection’s long-term value and need preservation planning of their own: regular backups stored in more than one location, open and well-documented file formats, and periodic checks that files remain readable. A well-documented collection whose records are lost is, in practice, an undocumented one.

Turning the plan into practice

A preservation plan is only useful if it stays connected to daily work. Archive for Art keeps restoration history, conservation work and condition notes on each object’s record as part of its long-term documentation, so preservation history is always where your team expects to find it. Request a demo to discuss your preservation workflow with us.