Surveys & Consultation
Helping you reach your preservation goals
We work with clients to assess their needs, from item-level collections surveys to large-scale preservation project management.
Assessments can be vital tools for prioritizing preservation needs. Institutions who have received CCAHA surveys have used them to apply for and gain grant funding from private, state, and federal sources. They are valuable tools for strategic planning and advocating for preservation to boards.
Most assessments begin with a day-long visit from a CCAHA staff member, who visits the institution, interviewing staff and surveying collections. Then, they write a comprehensive written report with guidelines, resources, and next steps.
Preservation Needs Assessment
A general evaluation of a collection's needs, including environment (temperature, relative humidity, pollution, and light), housekeeping, pest control, fire protection, security, disaster preparedness, collection storage, handling, exhibition, treatment, and preservation planning.
Risk Assessment
An analysis of collections management policies and procedures; facilities and building location; environmental conditions; security and fire protection; pest and mold control; and weather and geographic risks. A risk assessment is the first step in the emergency planning process.
Collections Assessment
An evaluation by a conservator of the condition of the materials in a collection, in order to assign conservation priorities and determine an action plan.
Item-Level Conservation Assessment
Conservation condition reports and treatment proposals for all of the materials in a collection, with assistance in prioritizing conservation treatment for individual items or object groups.
Digital Preservation Assessment
An evaluation of an institution's preservation needs related to digital collections, assessing strategic goals, policies, technological resources, and processes and workflows for digital preservation. The assessments help institutions apply for funding to increase accessibility of their collections.
Digitization Plan
Provides guidance for institutions to implement a large-scale digitization project for archives and special collections. The digitization plan provides recommendations for prioritization, file specifications, metadata, quality control, workflow management, and digital preservation.
Interested in something else?
We've done many custom preservation projects over the years, from collections storage planning to museum visitation capacity studies to project management. If you have a project in mind, odds are that we can help. Click here to get started.
