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"ON THE MOVE: The HLATC prepares for a new home"
(Republished from the Collection's spring 2009 Newsletter)
The dream of a new Human Ecology building is getting closer and closer to being realized. In a few years, the HLATC will gain much-needed space for textile storage and care, research, class visits, and public programs.
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Occupying a new space means we will need to carefully move over 13,000 objects as well as all of their associated documentation and archival materials - no small feat! Coordinating a move of this dimension takes a lot of careful research and planning as well as substantial monetary and personnel resources. The continued safety and care of the collection remains a priority for SoHE, both during the move and in the new building. The new building will now take shape while the historic building, to which it will be connected, is simultaneously renovated. |
This impacts how the relocation will proceed. The majority of the collection will need to be housed in a secure offsite storage facility, while a selection of pieces needed by the faculty for teaching will be stored within the Collection’s interim work space.
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The comprehensive inventory of the Collection, an invaluable first step in preparing us for the move, is now complete. This inventory has allowed us to confront any location or labeling discrepancies, making sure everything is in perfect order prior to the beginning of the relocation project. Once the move gets underway, the textiles will be readied for packing, padded with archival materials and boxed. We will create detailed listings of the boxes’ contents and seal each box to ensure proper tracking of all items. Individual arrangements will be made for those items that cannot be boxed and those with stability concerns.
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The physical transfer of the Collection will undoubtedly require the cooperation of many people as we find the safest, most efficient way to move large numbers of textiles. Upon completion of the new building, the HLATC will occupy its new and improved storage space. The objects will be unpacked and the inventory sheets will be rechecked. Finally, the objects will be placed in their new storage units and database records updated with their new locations.
New cabinetry and storage units for the Collection are being chosen to optimize the utilization of space, the organization of material within that space, and the preservation of our holdings. We are exploring the latest innovations in space management to ensure the most efficient use of our storage areas and learning about “best practices” from those who have completed similar projects that we have toured: the Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit, WI, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Textile Museum, Washington, DC, and the Ratti Center at The Metropolitan |
Museum of Art. In addition, this past fall I was able to attend a conference in Philadelphia, Storage Strategies for Cultural Collections, which provided many helpful insights.
As the move gets closer, we are looking forward to possibilities turning into realities. It will take a lot of hard work, but in the end it will surely be worth it. We are looking forward not only to providing the best care for our textiles, but also to becoming a more accessible destination and resource for both the UW and Madison communities.
Diana Zlatanovski, Assistant Curator
For more information on the Collection's move, please read Diana Zlatanovski's blog
