World-class venue for photographic conservators

Media release from the National Library of New Zealand

World-class venue for photographic conservators

The choice of Wellington as the venue for a conference of the world’s experts in photographic conservation is a compliment to the state-of-the-art facilities developed at the newly-revamped National Library, says National Librarian, Bill Macnaught.

Some 200 photo conservators, curators and collection managers from the world’s leading library, museum and art institutions are in Wellington for the second-ever meeting of the International Council of Museums, Conservation Committee and the American Institute for Conservation, which begins tonight [6pm] with a welcome at the National Library of New Zealand, in Wellington.

“Delegates have been full of praise for the world class preservation and access practices at the Library, particularly the purpose-built controlled atmosphere rooms, where negatives and transparencies or slides are stored at a constant temperature of two degrees Celsius,” said Bill Macnaught.

“The National Library and Archives New Zealand – both of which are part of the Department of Internal Affairs - are home to this country’s largest and most comprehensive collections of photographs and we have an obligation to preserve them for future generations, while also making them accessible on a day-to-day basis.

“The ‘controlled atmosphere rooms’ mean that highly flammable early 20th century film stock can be stored safely while colour photographs especially from the 1970s and 80s, which used unstable dyes in quick-turn-around processing, can be stabilised. Effectively, the items stored in these rooms will last with minimal deterioration for hundreds of years.”

The National Library is home to the Alexander Turnbull Library’s National Preservation Office, which provides advice and support to libraries, museums and heritage organisations around New Zealand.
The conference is scheduled to run for three days. A special workshop will discuss the care of cultural heritage in disasters, with contributors sharing their experiences from Hurricane Sandy, the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the Christchurch earthquakes.

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