ECPN Blog Has Moved

The blog of AIC's Emerging Conservation Professionals Network has moved!

To continue to read ECPN-related posts, go to www.conservators-converse.org/category/ecpn

About the Officers

About the ECPN Committee Officers

A while back, the names of the new ECPN committee officers were announced on the blog. Now, we thought you might like to know a little more about them:

Molly Gleeson, Chair

Molly Gleeson completed her BA in Art Conservation from the University of Delaware in 2002 and her MA from the UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials in 2008. She is now living and working in San Diego, CA, devoting part of her time to assist on a joint research project between UCLA and the Getty Conservation Institute, focused on Native California featherwork. In addition to her recent election to the ECPN committee, she also serves as a Member-at-Large on the board of the Western Association for Art Conservation (WAAC).

Eliza Spaulding (Vice Chair)

Eliza Spaulding is currently an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paper Conservation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 2010, she graduated from the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University with an Advanced Certificate in Conservation and a Master's Degree in Art History. In addition to working with ECPN, she also is involved in establishing the Philadelphia Area Conservation Association, a regional network for preservation and conservation professionals in the greater Philadelphia area.

Anisha Gupta, co-Outreach Coordinator

Anisha is an undergraduate senior majoring in Art History and Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has worked at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art as a conservation intern and currently works at the Oak Street Library Facility doing book and paper conservation. She graduates in May 2012 and hopes to have a conservation internship for a year and then apply to graduate school.

Megan Salazar-Walsh (co-Outreach Coordinator)

Megan was born and grew up in southern Spain. In 2007 she received a BA in Art History from Whitman College. She interned with several conservators in private practice in Seattle, WA and in Seville, Spain. She also volunteered at the Seattle Art Museum, working with the conservation department on objects, paintings and outdoor sculpture. Last summer she was an intern at the Shelburne Museum, VT. She is currently a first year student at Buffalo State College.

Amy Brost, Communications Coordinator

Amy is a pre-program intern at The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary (paper), Wilson Conservation, LLC (objects) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (photographs) as well as a chemistry student at New York City College of Technology. Over the summer, she worked for the Research Foundation at CUNY, assisting chemistry faculty with research pertaining to the development of solid oxide fuel cells. She came to conservation after 10 years working in advertising and communications. She has a BA in Art History and a BS in Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Carrie Roberts (Professional Education and Training)

Carrie is a recent graduate of the Winterthur / University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, where she majored in objects conservation with a preventive minor. Her areas of interest include the conservation of stone and archaeological materials, and the impact of environments on the stability of art objects. She has interned at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, English Heritage, the Worcester Art Museum, and the Kaman-Kalehoyuk archaeological excavation in Turkey. She currently works as a Samuel H. Kress Conservation Fellow at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan.

Amber Kerr-Allison, who has been serving as co-Professional Education & Training, is a Paintings Conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Lunder Conservation Center. She will complete her ECPN term in December. She has made a great contribution to growing ECPN over the past four years. The committee is deeply grateful for her sustained commitment to ECPN.

We are holding our committee calls on the third Monday of each month at 1 pm ET. The call-in information is on the ECPN page of the AIC website. Any member of ECPN is welcome to join those calls. Alternatively, keep up with our activities through the minutes from our calls that are posted to the blog each month, and feel free to reach out to any of us with your ideas and feedback.

October 31st Meeting Minutes

ECPN MEETING MINUTES

Monday, October 31, 2011

Conference Call Attendees:

Ryan Winfield (Staff Liaison)

Stephanie Lussier (Board Liaison)

Molly Gleeson (Chair)

Eliza Spaulding (Vice Chair)

Anisha Gupta (co-Outreach Coordinator)

Megan Salazar-Walsh (co-Outreach Coordinator)

Amber Kerr-Allison (co-Professional Education and Training)

Caroline Roberts (co-Professional Education and Training)

Rachael Perkins Arenstein (AIC e-Editor)

Rebecca Rushfield (ETC Liaison)

1. Basecamp orientation and training (Rachael) – Rachael conducted training on Basecamp and did an overview of the basic features.

a. General notes – Everyone controls their own username and password, not Ryan or Rachael. In order to change this information or your email address, go to account information settings. If you use Basecamp for projects outside of ECPN, you should have only one login username and password but have access to all your different groups through one account.

b. Uploading Files — You can upload different versions of the same file to Basecamp. These versions will appear as different files and be nested on top of each other. You can email people to alert them that you have uploaded a file. Other people can edit files and their versions will appear as separate versions of the file. If more than one person is editing a file, both of their versions will appear as two separate documents.

c. Writeboards —This is a useful tool when a project is in its early stages and formatting is not crucial. The Writeboard can be used to compare different versions of an idea and keep it all in one place. More than one person can edit the Writeboard simultaneously. Rachael suggested that this was a good place to put the meeting minutes so anyone can go in and add to the minutes.

d. Messages —A good place to brainstorm ideas and also archive ideas so people within ECPN in later years can come back and see our ideas. Files can also be attached to the message. These files can be found in the file list under that particular project. Important note: the author of the message can include anyone on the message, but if other people want to be added onto the thread later, only the author can add more people to the recipient list.

e. Calendars —Basecamp calendar can be synced with iCalendar (Apple calendars). Two different types of things can be created on the calendar: events and milestones. An event is of short-duration and had a set beginning and end time. Our monthly conference calls would be examples of events. A milestone is a bigger project that requires different tasks leading up to the milestone that need to be accomplished. A milestone can be assigned to the whole group or just one person; multiple people cannot be assigned with a milestone.

f. To-Dos—To-Do lists can be created to organize projects. A full description can be given for what the to-list pertains to. To-Dos can be added to milestones. One can comment on a To-Do list and have multiple To-Do lists going at once.

2. Minutes – 13 October 2011 meeting minutes were approved (Molly)—Molly suggested that we start putting the agenda on the Writeboard for everyone to look over before the next meeting.

3. Student Research Database (Carrie and Amber)—Carrie and Amber have been working on creating an online platform for student work to be accessed. Right now, they are trying to gauge interest in this project from graduate schools. They are still discussing whether it will be a database or website. When talking to contacts at the graduate schools, some issues were raised, such as how it would be supported financially and who would contribute the up-front costs. In order to gauge interest, they have put together a questionnaire of what they would like to ask grad school programs. This document has been uploaded to Basecamp. They plan that the responses to this survey will inform a budget and a second proposal. Reaching out to Abby Aldrich was also discussed because she expressed interest in getting involved. She can help with the continuation of the project when Amber steps down.

4. Allied Professionals List (Eliza)—The list of Allied Professionals is being updated and expanded and is currently on Basecamp. The pre-existing list on AIC was checked and updated. Carrie and Amber are getting together more organizations we can call our allies and those have been added to the Writeboard. Eliza said some doubts had come up about some of the organizations. She will send out an email with further details.

5. Outreach Coordinators’ Questions (Anisha)—Anisha asked about how we would like to proceed with forum calls. Molly suggested putting ideas about the subject of future forum calls on Basecamp. Anisha also asked about moving to the AIC blog. Ryan said we can move whenever we want to. ECPN will get authors’ privileges and will post on the blog with the tag “Emerging Conservator.” When we want to move is something that the group needs to discuss more. When we decide when to move, Rachael Perkins Arenstein can give us all a tutorial about using the new blog. In general, Ryan does not need to be informed of blog ideas but it may be a good idea to run administrative issues by him. Stephanie would like to be cc’d on emails about blog ideas and posts.

6. Email Blasts (Molly)—Ryan said it would not be wise to do email blasts too frequently so people are not annoyed by too many emails. He can do email blasts before forum calls or if we would like to really advertise a particular initiative. For most other things, continue advertising through the blog or Facebook page.

The next meeting was confirmed to be on Monday, November 21 at 1pm EST.

Respectfully submitted,

Anisha Gupta

Next deadline to apply for Professional Associate (PA) status is January 1

If you completed your conservation training 3 years ago (or more), you may now be eligible to apply for Professional Associate (PA) status. Being a PA comes with many benefits, including approval for listing in the online guide Find a Conservator and eligibility to apply for Individual Professional Development Scholarships, which help defray costs for professional development activities, including attending workshops, courses and conferences (excluding the AIC annual meeting).

The next application deadline is January 1. The application involves submitting examples of your work, including condition and treatment reports, lab reports and research papers, and obtaining 3 sponsors, such as current or former supervisors who are AIC members with PA or Fellow status.

Are you wondering if you are eligible to apply or do you have questions about the application process? You can find more information about the necessary qualifications and the application form here.

Please give us your feedback! We’d like to know what you think about PA status, and if you have recently qualified as a PA, we’d love to hear from you about what the process was like. Also, if you have any questions that we might be able to help answer, please let us know! Stay tuned to the blog and our facebook page for more information.

October 13th Meeting Minutes

ECPN MEETING MINUTES

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Conference Call Attendees:
Ruth Seyler (Staff Liaison)

Ryan Winfield (Staff Liaison)

Stephanie Lussier (Board liaison)

Molly Gleeson (Chair)

Eliza Spaulding (Vice Chair)

Amy Brost (Communications officer)

Anisha Gupta (co-Outreach Coordinator)

Megan Salazar-Walsh (co-Outreach Coordinator)

Amber Kerr-Allison (co-Professional Education and Training)

Carrie Roberts (co-Professional Education and Training)

Rose Daly (former Chair)

1. Committee Introductions – each person provided a brief introduction. Everyone should send a couple of sentences to Amy for a “meet the committee” blog post.

2. Brief Committee Overview (Ryan) – started about 4 years ago as part of a larger trend seen in other associations such as AAM, which has a young professionals group. Ruth & Ryan saw a need, from a staff perspective, to engage with students and emerging conservators in a structured way, within AIC. Through trial and error, found a way to engage the audience for the committee (including AIC’s first blog) using social media. Gradually built up and established structure and roles. The mentoring program and annual meeting activities developed into key initiatives, and we have a robust group spanning the “emerging” career spectrum, and many new exciting initiatives. The conference calls started out as more program than committee business, but now they have turned into committee business, even though anyone is welcome to call in. Business Meeting at the annual meeting is for committee business, but programs have been added, such as the Portfolio Session. More growth is anticipated, and this is an exciting time for the committee.

3. Committee Process (Ruth) – Post-graduates and students are a critical group for AIC. Important for Ryan and Ruth to be informed of the group’s activities, to identify synergies within AIC. Use Ryan and Ruth as point of contact and liaisons to other AIC staff. Stephanie, as Board liaison, works on our behalf with the Board. The Board will be approving and providing directives to ECPN, and they appreciate ECPN and what we’ve accomplished. Committee has diversified significantly since the earliest days. Goal to have the committee serve everyone in the “emerging” conservator category, with equal emphasis. Board meets three times per year (IAG meeting will occur in November in conjunction with Board meeting). Molly’s role as Chair includes reporting about ECPN to the AIC Board.

4. Communications Overview (Amy) – Her role involves print media, such as the 2011 AIC meeting poster and flier, and ANAGPIC flier, writing and soliciting blog content, writing at times for AIC News, being involved with the Publications Committee and Wikis as an ECPN representative. As Wikis develop, will act as liaison for specialty groups looking to leverage help from emerging conservators to populate Wikis. Act as ECPN secretary (taking and posting meeting minutes).

5. Professional Education and Training Overview (Amber) – Communicating to the different universities involved with training in conservation, and working with ETC to look at their website and generate ideas, contributions for it (working with Stephanie). Move forward on a student research repository initiative and develop liaison positions for each of the conservation training programs. Surveyed the ECPN members at the beginning, and a follow-up two years ago to see what people’s interests were and how ECPN could serve them. The Portfolio Session was a new initiative this year, and this program involved coordinating participation by the programs and coordinating the on-site execution. This initiative was very successful and it can grow in new directions, perhaps helping to connect emerging conservators to job opportunities.

6. Student Research Repository (Carrie) – Exploring how to meet the needs of the students and training programs. At the 2011 AIC meeting, discussed the concerns and interests of students and training program faculty and staff. Questionnaire being developed to see how the initiative could be supported and populated with research content. The repository will be an ECPN/AIC joint initiative, with cooperation from the educational institutions.

7. Poster Abstract (Carrie) – For AIC 2012 meeting. Collecting case studies. May have an interactive component, to showcase emerging conservators’ blogs, etc. Awaiting acceptance notification. Carrie is reaching out to people to solicit content for case studies. Abstract is general, overarching, so some flexibility in the selection of case studies. If abstract is accepted, Amy, Anisha, and Megan to work on poster, and pick up Comments from Facebook and Blog with ideas for case studies.

8. Chair and Vice-Chair Overview (Molly and Eliza) – Began drafting documents describing roles (Vice-Chair is a new position). Share organizational roles and project/team leadership. Mentoring program, annual meeting organization, Angels Project, allied professionals lists, student research repository are all projects they’ll be directly involved in. Molly’s Chair duties involve making reports to the Board will be hers solely, but other duties can be shared with Eliza working as second-in-command.

9. Committee Communication (Stephanie) – Stephanie mentioned that communication between committee members and the Chair and Vice-Chair should be enhanced – the Chair and Vice-Chair need to be aware of what everyone is working on, and any critical developments. The creation of the Vice-Chair position helps relieve the burden on the Chair, and also gives ECPN a more formal structure like the other AIC committees. This structure provides for continuity by having the Vice-Chair ultimately move into the Chair position.

10. Agenda Development (Molly) – standing items include an update from each officer, but items can be added by emailing the Chair before the meeting.

11. Basecamp for ECPN (Amy & Ryan) – Amy suggested ECPN use Basecamp to organize committee documents and discussions, and has experience using it through the Publications Committee. Ryan asked Rachael Perkins Arenstein about ECPN using Basecamp, and the licenses are available. Ryan will follow up with Rachael to obtain licenses for ECPN and arrange for Basecamp training during a future call.

12. Outreach Overview (Anisha & Megan) – Molly will set up a call with Heather, Amy, Ryan, Anisha, and Megan. Pick up any projects Heather was working on. Ryan to set up Anisha & Megan’s blog author privileges and admin status for Facebook. Projects Heather initiated, including a networking toolkit and organizing webinars, will be continued. In the past, selection of topics has been democratic and open to whoever wants to write, with committee agreement. Develop blogging strategies – keep a running list of ideas and then use it to identify potential authors and prioritize topics. Keep momentum by having steady activity on social media. Committee members are encouraged to write, comment, and participate actively on the committee’s social media sites.

13. Terms (Molly) – Terms have been irregular in the past, but now ECPN will bring the terms in line with those used by other committees. The terms will last for a year and turn over at each AIC annual meeting. Amber felt that the Chair position could benefit from being a longer term, because of the nature of the projects the Chair undertakes and leads.

Current terms:

1. Molly-will serve as Chair for approximately 1 year 8 months

2. Eliza, Megan and Anisha-will serve 8 month terms with the option for renewal for a second term. If Eliza chooses to stay on for a second “term,” will then become Chair for one year after Molly steps down.

3. Amy will serve until AIC 2012.

4. Carrie will serve until AIC 2013.

5. Amber will serve until December 2011.

14. Rose (former Chair) joined to indicate that she was available to answer any questions that arise.

15. Anisha will take minutes for 10/31 call, which Amy is unable to attend. The future calls will be on the 3rd Monday of each month, starting in November. The previous month’s minutes (for review prior to approval) and agenda will be sent out on the Friday before each call.

Respectfully submitted,

Amy Brost

NARA technician positions

The National Archives and Records Administration Conservation Branch wishes to hire two Conservation Technicians to work on a grant-funded, two-year project to preserve and make available a collection of flood-damaged, largely 19th-20th c Hebraic and Arabic books and documents.

As a member of the project team, the successful candidates will assist with conservation treatments to stabilize and prepare selected books and archival materials for digitization and exhibition, collection housing, packing materials for shipment and other project activities.
This position is a term federal appointment. Knowledge of Hebrew and/or Arabic is desirable but not mandatory. The work location is at the modern and well-equipped Archives II building in College Park, MD, a close-in suburb of Washington, DC.

Job and application information is at http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/301817300 under job announcement number JD555155DGA Conservation Technician. The vacancy announcements closing date: Friday, November 18.

If you are interested in this position, or seek additional information, contact Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Director, Conservation Branch or Doris Hamburg, Director, Preservation Programs

Deadline for Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant December 1, 2011

The Award is established by the Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) to honor the career and influence of Jan Merrill-Oldham, distinguished leader, author, and mentor in the field of library and archives preservation.

Over the past three decades Ms. Merrill-Oldham has been instrumental in the development of standards and best practices, writing more than forty publications including co-authoring the Guide to the ANSI/NISO/LBI Library Binding Standard, a document used by almost all libraries and commercial library binders. Ms. Merrill-Oldham has served on key committees within ALCTS, ALA, the Association of Research Libraries, the Council on Library and Information Resources, the National Information Standards Organization and many others. She has educated and mentored countless preservation librarians and conservators and her support for students and dedication to the field serves as a model to all of us. In September of 2010, Ms. Merrill-Oldham announced her retirement after a long and notable career in library and archives preservation. In December 2010, she was named the recipient of the ALCTS Ross Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes Jan Merrill-Oldham’s wide ranging contributions, deep commitment to the field of library and archives preservation, and her undying support of young professionals by supporting participation in an ALA Annual Conference.

It is important however to encourage new and young preservation librarians and staff to further pursue their professional development. A significant part of that involvement is to attend the ALA Annual Conference to network and learn from their colleagues. Ms. Merrill-Oldham over her career has dedicated herself to mentoring young professionals and it is in recognition of that service that an award that supports professional development and involvement by librarians and para-professionals new to the preservation field be established.

The Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant is awarded by the ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting Section to provide librarians and paraprofessionals new to the preservation field with the opportunity to attend a professional conference and encourages professional development through active participation at the national level. The grant is to be used for airfare, lodging, and registration fees to attend the ALA Annual Conference.

For more information, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/awards/grants/jmogrant.cfm.

News Updates: Eligibility for George Stout Grants and PA Status

George Stout Scholarships Now Open to Recent Graduates

Exciting news for recent conservation program grads! If you have graduated from a conservation program within the last two years, you are now eligible to apply for the George Stout Memorial Fund to help defray expenses (up to $1000) to attend professional meetings (previously, student enrollment was a requirement). The deadline for receipt of applications is December 15. You can find a link to the application form at www.conservation-us.org/grants

Emerging Conservators Encouraged to Apply for PA Status

For those of you who have been out of school longer than 2 years, you are probably either eligible or nearly eligible to apply to become a Professional Associate (PA) of AIC. If this is the case for you, now is a good time to think about applying to become a PA. There are many benefits that come along with PA status, including eligibility to apply for Individual Professional Development Scholarships and approval to be listed in the online guide Find a Conservator. For questions about preparing your PA application or the application process and requirements, please contact Ruth Seyler at rseyler [at] conservation-us [dot] org or 202.661.8062. PA application deadlines are January 1, May 1, July 10, and October 1, and a link to the application can be found at www.conservation-us.org/peerreview.

New ECPN Officers

ECPN was very fortunate to have so many strong candidates interested in a leadership role on the committee. We are pleased to announce the following new officers:

Chair

Molly Gleeson

San Diego, CA

Vice Chair

Eliza Spaulding

Philadelphia, PA

Outreach Co-Coordinator

Anisha Gupta

Champaign, IL

Outreach Co-Coordinator

Megan Salazar-Walsh

Buffalo, NY

Carrie Roberts will continue as Professional Education and Training Coordinator, Amber Kerr-Allison will continue as Professional Development and Training Coordinator through December, and Amy Brost will continue as Communications Coordinator.

Please join us in thanking outgoing Chair Rose Cull and outgoing Outreach Coordinator Heather Brown for all their hard work to help make ECPN what it is today.

The officers are looking forward to an exciting and productive year for ECPN. Please note that our monthly meeting time will be changing, so stay tuned for more information on the committee call schedule for the coming year.

Art Conservation Training Programs Outside the USA

Talk to anyone in the profession, and you may hear that a lot has changed in the art conservation field. In the past, conservators often toiled behind the scenes, but in recent years conservation has become a much more visible profession. Today, some museums have conservation labs open to public view. Many institutions and private conservators use social media to get the word out about their work, and exhibitions and the accompanying catalogues often feature the contributions and perspectives of conservators. As a result, more and more people discover conservation, making entry into an academic training program more competitive than ever.

As a prospective student in the US, one way to expand your ideas about your future in the profession might be to consider undergraduate or graduate study outside of the United States and Canada. If you have the flexibility and desire to explore another country and culture, one of these programs might be for you. Some of them offer training in specialties that might mesh with your specific interests and experience, enabling you to make a strong application. (Anyone interested in building and conserving clocks? Set your sights on West Dean!) These programs are often just as competitive as those in the US, if not more so (The Courtauld Institute program accepts eight students once every three years). However, some have a stated interest in receiving applications from candidates outside the country. Perhaps your experiences will bring diversity to the composition of an incoming class, strengthening your application in that way.

If you are not aware of it, Queen’s University in Kingston (Ontario, Canada) has a highly respected graduate program:

http://www.queensu.ca/art/artconservation.html

Here are a few universities in the UK that offer graduate programs in English. Be sure to contact the schools you are interested in to fully understand how the degrees correspond to those awarded in the US. For example, in the UK, the “first degree” is the bachelor’s and is a 3-year program. Then, you would read for a graduate diploma, usually one year, and a post-graduate diploma after that. Following that, the master’s degree can be earned.

West Dean College

West Sussex, UK

MA, Conservation Studies

Graduate and Post Graduate Diplomas in Books & Library Materials, Clocks, Ceramics, Furniture, Metalwork. Programs in Stringed Instruments and Buildings, Interiors, and Sites.

http://www.westdean.org.uk/West%20Dean%20Prospectus%2011-12.pdf

Camberwell College of Arts, London, UK

MA, Conservation (2-year program new in 2011)

Art on Paper, or Books & Archival Materials

http://www.camberwell.arts.ac.uk/courses/coursesbylevel/graduateschoolcourses/maconservation2year/

Cardiff University, Wales

School of History, Archaeology, and Religion

BSc, Conservation

MSc, Conservation Practice

Cultural heritage, archaeological materials

http://www.cf.ac.uk/share/degreeprogrammes/archaeology/postgraduate/

City & Guilds of London Art School

BA, Conservation Studies (Stone and wood sculpture)

Post Graduate Diplomas in Conservation

http://www.cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk/departments/conservation

The Courtauld Institute, London

MA, Conservation of Wall Painting

Post Graduate Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings

http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/degreeprogrammes/postgraduate/index.shtml

Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge, UK

Postgraduate Diploma, Easel Paintings

http://www-hki.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/courses/

Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Conservation, Department of Arts within the School of Arts and Social Sciences

MA, Conservation of Fine Art (paintings or works on paper)

MA, Preventive Conservation

http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/academic/sass/about/arts/subart/cu/?view=Standard

Bucks New University, Buckinghamshire, UK

BA, MA Conservation of Furniture and Decorative Arts

http://bucks.ac.uk/en?t=/customCode/courseFinder/view/course&ParentID=1295428942034&courseCode=MD1CFD1&tab=1

London Metropolitan University, London, UK

MA, Conservation (Wood and metal objects; decorative surfaces, architectural interiors)

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/pgprospectus/courses/conservation-of-decorative-surfaces.cfm

Lincoln School of Art & Design

University of Lincoln, UK

MA, Conservation of Historic Objects

http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/lsad/_courses/postgraduate/conservation_of_historic_objects/Default.asp

For archaeological materials, be sure to look into Cardiff (above), UCL Institute of Archaeology in London, offering the MSc (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/studying/masters/degrees/msc_conservation), and Durham University’s MA program (http://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/postgraduate/ma_conservation/).

This list is by no means comprehensive. For example, this list focused on art conservation, but there are a number of programs for buildings and architectural conservation, as well as many schools offering conservation courses. You should definitely visit the “Training” page of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) at http://www.iccrom.org/db_train.php. There, you can search for programs around the world by specialty. Listings indicate the language of instruction. If you happen to explore another program in detail, please let us know so you can write a post about it for this blog! And if there’s a great program you think our readers should know about, feel free to add it in a Comment and provide a link.

Publishing Opportunity for Emerging Conservators: WAAC

WAAC, the Western Association for Art Conservation, is a nonprofit membership organization for professional conservators. WAAC was founded in 1975 to bring together conservators practicing in the western United States to exchange ideas, information and news. Although WAAC is specifically a regional organization for the western states including Alaska and Hawaii, any individual or institution may become a member regardless of location or national boundary.

The WAAC Newsletter is published three times per year, in January, May and September. Over the last few years, each issue has been 28-32 pages long. The Newsletter contains feature articles, regional news, a technical exchange column, a health and safety column, conference reviews, an events calendar, positions available and a publications section. Newsletters are available online at the website approximately 6 months after publication.

Students and emerging conservators are welcome to submit content to the Newsletter, especially feature articles or items for the Technical Exchange section. Feature articles can be from any specialty area, or they can focus on a more general topic, such as philosophy, basic science, new technology, exhibition/display, disaster recovery, preservation, and/or business practices.

Also, as of March 2011, authors submitting content for the newsletter can also include a video component. This would be a short clip designed to function as a “video illustration” for a specific point in a written article, much like a traditional figure. The maximum length is five minutes. Complete video submission guidelines are also available on the website. This could enrich your written content and also perhaps expand what you can demonstrate in your article.

If you are not familiar with WAAC but feel you should be, you’re in luck – the group’s Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas on October 19-22, 2011. You can download the registration form here.

Publishing Opportunity for Emerging Conservators: Write a Book Review for JAIC

Emerging conservators developing confidence in an area of expertise should consider writing a book review for a print publication or online forum. One publication actively seeking submissions is the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (JAIC), the peer-reviewed journal of AIC.

According to Harriet K. Stratis, Book Review Editor for the JAIC, there are many books available for reviews, and she welcomes submissions from emerging conservators.

However, to write a successful review, you must be a strong writer and choose a topic to which you can bring a high level of expertise and insight. While this could be a tall order for an emerging conservator, there could be texts that are directly relevant to your education, experience, and current research. If you are interested in learning about the available titles for review, contact Harriet directly; she is at The Art Institute of Chicago and is listed in the AIC Member Directory. Then, if you identify a text you would like to review, you might want to identify an advisor or mentor who can give you tips and feedback before you submit.

For your reference, the complete “Guidelines for JAIC Book Reviewers” appear below:

GUIDELINES FOR JAIC BOOK REVIEWERS

The purpose of the review is to give readers a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of a publication, and to acknowledge whatever contribution the publication makes to the field and to the literature. The review should succinctly describe the contents of the publication being reviewed. The intended audience, as stated by the authors or as implied, should be identified, and the success with which the book deals with its subject for that audience should be evaluated. Reviewers are encouraged to critically assess the information found in the publication, as well as the method of presentation and point of view, as appropriate. If the publication makes a contribution, for example, of new information, or of compiling previously scattered information, or of publicly voicing for the first time a particular point of view, the contribution should be noted and its relative importance acknowledged.

Reviews of more than one publication on a particular subject are encouraged. Such reviews should provide the information noted above, and in addition may include the reviewer’s assessment of the relative successes of the publications in dealing with aspects of the general subject matter that they share.

Reviews may be of two general types: reviews of single publications and reviews of two or more publications. Suggested maximum length for reviews of single publications is 1000-2000 words (approximately 4-8 typewritten pages). Review of multiple publications may be proportionately longer.

The review should begin with standard bibliographic information and availability, in the following order: 1. Author; 2. Title of Book; 3. City: Publisher, 20XX; 4. xxx pages, hardcover, $xx; 5. (If applicable) AIC member price $xx; 6. (If applicable) Available from Name of Organization, address; 7. ISBN xxxx. The review should end with the reviewer’s name and complete working or institutional address.

Manuscripts must be typed in a 10 or 12 point standard typeface, with paragraphs indented, double-spaced, with reviewer’s name and page number in the upper right corner of each page, and a 1 inch margin or more on all sides.

Reviews will be edited by the Book Review Editor in consultation with the Editor, and sometimes with an Associate Editor in the appropriate specialty. No change in the substance of the text will be made without consulting the reviewer. The Editor of JAIC is the final authority in matters of content. Reviews will be copy edited by the paid copy editors who handle all Journal articles. The reviewer will receive page proofs.

Send the review by e-mail to Harriet K. Stratis (see the AIC Member Directory for details).

Publishing Opportunities for Students and Emerging Conservators: e-conservation magazine

Online publications and forums offer tremendous opportunities to connect with the conservation community worldwide. One online journal, e-conservation magazine, is a bimonthly publication focusing on the conservation of cultural heritage. In addition to peer-reviewed articles, the magazine includes news, reviews, project reports, and other content as approved by the editorial board. It is published exclusively online, both as a PDF and on a website: http://www.e-conservationline.com/

The magazine is an Open Access project, so all issues are free. The editorial board is comprised of conservators and conservation scientists. The magazine is actively seeking papers on a broad range of topics, including treatment case studies, preventive conservation, documentation, theory, and conservation science. Articles from other fields that relate to conservation and restoration are also welcome. Emerging conservators developing confidence in an area of expertise could consider writing a book review of a conservation text.

Prospective authors may check the suitability of their submission before writing a full paper or article by using the preliminary submission form on the website. In particular, this could be a useful route for students who are interested in publishing in the magazine, and want to utilize their time most effectively. The magazine hopes this will encourage student submissions; in the past, e-conservation magazine has published articles, conference and book reviews, case studies, and project reports written by students.

While there are submission deadlines listed on the website, full and preliminary submissions are accepted at any time and are evaluated for the next available issue.

If you are interested in publishing in e-conservation magazine, visit the website for complete information, and to read the current issue as well as issues from the archive.

Below are some helpful links to get you started:

· The details about how to submit articles of any sort, including book reviews, can be found at: http://www.e-conservationline.com/content/view/20/114/

· The email address for submissions is submission [at] e-conservationline.com

· The preliminary submission form can be found at:

http://e-conservationline.com/index.php?option=com_performs&formid=2

· The submission deadlines can be found at: http://www.econservationline.com/content/view/503/116/

Even if you’re not ready to submit an article, this is definitely a publication to bookmark and read regularly. You can also find e-conservation on Facebook and Twitter, and you can follow their daily online newspaper (http://paper.li/econservation/econservation-daily), so there are several ways to stay plugged in to this valuable resource.

July Meeting Minutes

July meeting minutes were approved on the 9/13/11 call.

ECPN MEETING MINUTES

July 21, 2011

Conference Call Attendees:

Rose Cull

Ryan Winfield

Heather Brown

Amy Brost

Rebecca Rushfield

Stephanie Lussier

Stephanie Porto

Amber Kerr-Allison

Gwen Manthey

Ruth Seyler

I. June Minutes

a. Not everyone received the June minutes. Rose will send out again. Call for approval will occur on the next call.

II. Officer Vacancies

a. Transition of officers: Ruth suggested a two-year term for the chair position for continuity purposes, with all other committee positions at one year. Also, she recommends the chair be a few years out of a graduate program – if possible, a PA – in order to provide guidance to all levels of emerging conservators. Rose mentioned that the new chair should also have a different background than herself, and thus different ideas. Stephanie Lussier suggested the term follow the same timeline as the other AIC committees, beginning right after the annual meeting. Rose and Ruth are going to reach out to a few individuals they believe would suit the position and may be interested. Those nearing the end of a grad program are busiest. Someone with 1-2 years experience may be more willing to make the time commitment.

b. Those on the call agreed that inviting candidates was appropriate, especially because the committee is still somewhat new, so members have not had an opportunity to move up through the ranks.

c. There will be a voting process - candidates will be put to the committee for approval.

III. Angels Project 2012

a. Ruth is in the process of exploring sites for the Angels Project in Albuquerque. ECPN will step in once the site is selected to help with marketing, providing volunteers, etc.

b. Moving toward doing two projects at the annual meetings.

IV. Expanding Participation on ECPN Calls

a. The idea came up to attempt to involve the broader ECPN network on calls. Currently, the ECPN officers, staff and board liaisons, and partners participate, but others typically do not.

b. Perhaps invite the full network for a "forum" type of call with a special agenda. Try to get more people involved between being a member of the network and becoming a committee officer.

c. Reach out to East Carolina University, Cardiff, etc. - include students of schools outside of ANAGPIC.

d. The frequency of the “forum” call could be every third or fourth call, depending on how many topics are on the list. One idea for a topic is a discussion of internships. Ryan suggested maintaining a list of topics and then doing a forum call when there are four topics, with a goal to have a full-network call roughly 3 times per year.

e. Perhaps see if any topics are specific projects, and see if volunteers would work on a project basis (research, etc.) and then bring findings/work back to full group for discussion.

V. Mentoring Program

a. Rose is seeking mentors - one for paintings and a few for people without an interest in a specific specialty area. Ryan mentioned that a few mentor applications have come in.

b. The online application form could be updated to include a space to make a note if the person is applying in response to a request to mentor a specific person.

c. Rose will be drafting a mentor invitation letter.

d. Amber asked if perhaps publishing mentee profiles that prospective mentors could browse to see if they were interested? Rose indicated that there would need to be a place on the application to give permission for this.

e. Rose mentioned that conservators could add "mentoring" to their profile in the AIC Directory to show they mentor in some way - whether by taking pre-program people or by participating as a mentor in the Mentoring Program.

f. Important that the mentoring offer not be broad and open-ended, because people want to respond to specific needs, rather than make broad, open-ended commitments to mentor anyone who calls.

VI. Student/Emerging Members

a. Rebecca has drafted a letter to encourage the committees and SG's to have student/emerging members. It will be emailed out to all specialty groups and AIC committees. Rose will send the final letter to ECPN dist list.

b. Could take it back to the program heads to show them that opportunities exist for students to get involved.

c. Rose is writing an article for AIC News about this.

VII. Annual Meeting 2011 ECPN Survey Results

a. Ryan will send out to everyone. Nothing too unexpected. Most people attended the Portfolio Review, followed by attending the Informational Meeting and viewing the poster.

b. Most people found out about ECPN events through the meeting program, followed by email and Facebook.

c. The highest rated event was the Portfolio Session, followed by the poster.

d. Most people by far wanted to see a dinner or Happy Hour take place outside of the annual meeting (84.2%), and there was also high interest in a Portfolio Session and Informational Meeting outside of the AIC meeting.

e. Roughly 1/3 of the respondents were conservators, 1/3 graduate students, 1/3 pre-program. The smallest number was undergrads or people in related fields.

f. Most people prefer email as a way to keep up with ECPN. We don't do much email now, so perhaps enhance that.

g. Most people, over half, want to participate in a future Angels Project (57.1%). Next was participating in Mentoring Program (nearly 40%). Smaller interest in a future Portfolio Session or serving on a committee.

h. Ryan will send any comments that respondents wrote in, but there were not many. Most were very positive comments about the Portfolio Session.

VIII. Outreach

a. Heather Brown will be attending graduate school in the fall, so this will most likely be her last ECPN call as Outreach Coordinator.

b. Ryan will give Heather list of people interested in blogging.

c. Amber noted some summer interns, etc. have blogs. Suggested Heather ask if they will guest-blog for ECPN.

d. Overhaul blog when AIC website updated. Move to different platform?

e. Ryan indicated that the new website is still being discussed, so what will happen with the blog is not yet known. Discussion is slated for the end of the summer. New website launch date slated for October. New blog will most likely be a Wordpress format that integrates better with the CMS.

f. Heather is doing a networking toolkit, like AAM's. Many people want to network with people in their area. She is working on a blog post on this.

g. Heather/Amber suggested a map, or way to show where network members are located. Perhaps do this in partnerships with the regional guilds.

h. Washington and Philadelphia will have new liaisons. Amber will see if Richmond area can identify a liaison also.

IX. Communications

a. After completing the flier and poster, the Communications project load is fairly light. Amy is working on several blog posts.

b. Amber suggested tapping into the Public Outreach/Engagement theme for Albuquerque. Develop a poster about how emerging conservators are leveraging social media and other tactics to create awareness of their activities. Solicit input from network. Session? Poster? Panel? See what ECPN can contribute to 2012 annual meeting on this theme.

X. Education & Training Updates

a. Amber has the survey results from the graduate meeting at AIC and the student research repository meeting. Those results will be shared in an upcoming call.

b. Attaining PA status: More PA's could be a way to bring in more mentors. Talk to graduate programs about how to discuss this more. Draft something for the programs to send to their graduates. Encourage PA status among post-graduate fellows. Make the case for being a PA for conservators. But also have a list for why people within and outside the field should care about PA's and Fellows. Now that the debate about certification is behind us, perhaps time for another push for the PA program.

XI. ECC Update

a. CAC Board now has an emerging conservator. Meaghan Monaghan is a co-chair of the ECC, and there are a few new members. The group is in a state of transition. CAC is revamping its website. ECC will have a new presence on the new CAC website.

XII. Communication with Grad Programs outside ANAGPIC

a. First have blog posts about them, and then once the programs learn about each other, look for ways to collaborate.

b. IIC in September (panel) - at the conference, Amber will talk to them about blogging for ECPN

XIII. Emerging Museum Professionals Group for AAM

a. Panel on conservation training, at the 2013 meeting. Rose suggested that the AAM proposal be revisited in March.

The next call will be August 18 at 1:00 pm ET.

Respectfully submitted,

Amy Brost