The Western Region Field Service Program (WRFSP) supports preservation efforts at collections-based institutions throughout BACC’s four-state western region: Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington. Launched in 2000 with major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the program currently provides museums and historical organizations across a 370,000-square-mile area with the following services:
Focus on Collections Care, a three-day workshop series presented by BACC at selected locations throughout the western region, provides an intensive training experience focused on basic preservation themes of planning and management, preventive strategies, and emergency response and recovery. Training is available to organizations that wish to arrange a specialized workshop at their own institution.
Curriculum, schedule, information, and registration form for the Focus on Collections Care workshops for 2011 can be found at workshops.
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General preservation planning surveys coordinated by the Field Service Office provide institutions with an overview of their preservation needs. Recommendations for improving preservation practices are developed in general surveys by BACC staff with three principal objectives:
- To consider all the factors that affect collections care
- To offer practical recommendations
- To provide follow-up consultation that facilitates the drafting of a long-range preservation plan
A cost-subsidized general preservation planning survey is available to qualifying small and midsized institutions.
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The Field Service Office offers consultations in three principal categories:
- Follow-up consultations for survey recipients
- Follow-up consultations for workshop participants
- Consultation on special problems
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The Reference Service assists institutions in researching a variety of preservation-related technical queries. Typical questions involve how to institute an integrated pest management program, how to remedy a mold growth problem, how to wrap an object to protect it in storage or shipment, and how to determine appropriate lighting conditions for objects on display.
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Kara West, Assistant Director for Operations / Field Services, earned her master’s degree in Library and Information
Science (MLIS) from San Jose State University, and also holds a B.A. in Art History from UC Santa
Cruz. Ms. West has been affiliated with BACC since 2003, first as Registrar, and subsequently as
Assistant Director. Prior to joining BACC she provided collection management support at local historical societies, art museums, art galleries, academic libraries, museum libraries, and corporate archives. A collections care specialist, she plans and presents preventive care educational programs throughout the western region and assists cultural institutions with vulnerability assessments and disaster planning. Ms West a trained member of both The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the American Institute for Conservation Collections Emergency Response Team (AIC CERT).
Elise Ciez, Field Service Project Manager, earned a B.A. in Communications-Emphasis in Advertising, with minors in Art and French from San Diego State University. Prior to joining the BACC staff in 2009, she worked as an administrative volunteer at the Women’s History Museum and as an intern in the Communications Department of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Ms. Ciez is responsible for coordinating BACC’s workshops on preservation theory and practice and works with conservators to carry out technical assistance requests. In addition to her work at BACC, Ms. Ciez currently serves as a volunteer docent for the Timken Museum of Art.
The Western Region Field Service Program is made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency.
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Painting Conservation | Paper Conservation | Frame Treatment | Western Regional Field Service
