Collections mean many things: In its founding text, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) defines collections as ensembles of ‘the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment’. The International Council of Archives (ICA) refers to the ‘memory of nations and societies’; the International Federation of Libraries Associations and Institutions (IFLA) refers to ‘information, ideas, and works of imagination’. By adopting simply the term ‘Collections’ for its Programme title, ICCROM accommodates meanings from all these forms of movable heritage.

Collections are more than the sum of their parts: Collections become more than just accumulations, they become thoughtful ensembles. We must preserve the whole as well as its parts.

Collections have different origins and different frameworks: Collections have been gathered for many purposes, via many processes. They have been assembled by individuals, by communities, and by different layers of government. Each gives rise to a distinct institutional and legal framework.

Collections move around the world: The rooted atmosphere of museums can make us forget just how far some of their objects have travelled. The history of collections is also a history of movement: things have been sent, shipped, sold or lost, sometimes ending up in very surprising locations. In some instances, such movement forms the deep tragedy of looted heritage; elsewhere it embeds stories that become a profound part of the collection.

Collections provide identity and mediate dialogue: Collections tell us of previous worlds, previous cultures, previous times, but they also tell us of our many worlds now. Within communities, especially those facing rapid change, collections inform reflections on identity. Between communities, even those in conflict, collections can mediate dialogue, and become instruments of peace.

Collections communicate through their custodians and users: Objects do not take the initiative to communicate; their messages are created by their custodians and their users. Those responsible for the preservation of collections, and the presentation of collections, are also responsible for their communication.

Challenges for the conservation of collections

The original goal of ICCROM: Fifty years ago, ICCROM was established to advance thinking in conservation and restoration, and to assist institutions and professionals in its Member States to develop methodologies and capacities for the care of cultural heritage.

Inequitable access to the means of conservation: Fifty years later, ICCROM Member States still do not have equitable access to the resources, knowledge, and expertise necessary for the conservation of their collections.

Divided efforts: In most countries, institutional divides still fragment the management, legislation, and training applied to cultural heritage. Decisions involving multiple agencies become unnecessarily contentious. Within the conservation profession itself, the old divide between scientists and practitioners remains, and has re-emerged in countries that have recently adopted ‘modern’ conservation.

Ending western dominance of conservation: Fifty years later, although some improvements have occurred, the western approach to conservation prevails. Non-western states dominate ICCROM‘s membership, and yet non-western approaches to conservation are not sufficiently recognized, disseminated, debated, or researched.

Engaging the community with its collections: There is a growing desire by institutions and professionals to ensure community participation in conservation decisions, particularly for aboriginal collections and local community collections.

Providing the community all of its collections: More and more institutions have entered a frenetic cycle of travelling exhibitions, with the bulk of resources devoted to that form of access. Large collections, however, are growing even larger, with more and more of the objects under-used or even abandoned. There is a need to develop policies and techniques that allow safe access to the whole of each collection.

The need for a risk management approach: Recent years have brought conflicts, natural disasters, climate change, economic slowdown and diminishing resources. This environment calls for a risk management approach involving all stakeholders, to ensure wise prioritization of conservation actions.

Extending the traditional boundaries of collections: ‘New’ materials have brought new collection dilemmas in contemporary art collections, audio-visual collections, and digital collections. The concept of intangible heritage has brought new possibilities and questions for collections. These pressures force ICCROM beyond its original boundaries.

Balance between the movable and the immovable: Last but not least, there is a pragmatic challenge of finding a balance between the priorities of the two practical forms of material heritage – movable objects vs immovable objects. The powerful communication and marketing strategy of world heritage sites captures the attention of the decision-makers, and diminishes the development of strategies for collections’ conservation. There is a need to balance efforts, at the international and national level, by increasing the visibility of collections.

ICCROM response

ICCROM has the strengths and weaknesses of an 'International Centre of Study'. Those include limited funding and human resources, but at the same time, a powerful and highly motivated network of professionals and institutions, a unique capacity of leverage and partnering, both at individual, institutional and governmental level, and the ability to provide efficient multicultural and multidisciplinary platform to the development of conservation thinking and practice.

Involving all possible resources in its Member States, ICCROM can provide routes, lead and participate in innovative processes to face the challenges for the conservation of collections.

In particular, in 2010–2011, the Collections Programme will address specifically and in a concerted manner:

• risk management and preventive conservation;
• sharing conservation decisions and addressing divides in conservation;
• conservation of sounds and image collections, heritage at high risk.

updated on: 29 December, 2009