Preserving the Past for the Future

[Music]

i would like to begin this talk

by taking a moment to show respect and

recognition for the ancestral lands of

the menehowac people

people who were removed from northern

virginia but who live on

through the land i acknowledge and honor

with gratitude the land

and waterways and the people who have

stewarded them throughout the

generations

i respect the memory and history of the

people who came before me

and the land upon which i live our world

has changed dramatically

especially in the last few months this

is a turbulent time

climate change social movements about

unequal justice

and the coven 19 pandemic our country

our world is in a state of emergency

coven 19 has complicated our lives

and made us re-examine our personal and

professional priorities

it has also forced us to create new

procedures for our daily lives

i now carry a face covering with me

wherever i go and am vigilant about

washing my hands

the virus has also challenged us to

reinvent how we establish

and maintain relationships not just our

personal relationships

but also how we connect with the world

around us including

our relationships with cultural heritage

as we look toward an

uncertain future preserving our past who

we are

and what we’ve accomplished has never

been more important

through the simple acts of communication

and collaboration

we can make a difference to protect our

cultural treasures

at home and at museums libraries

archives and heritage sites individuals

and organizations around the world and

in our own backyard

are taking steps to promote awareness

and preparedness

against threats to the heritage we value

and as the collections management

specialist

with the smithsonian’s national

collections program i strive to do just

that

each day in partnership with my

colleagues within the smithsonian

we are all collection stewards

regardless of our titles

departments or specialties through

communication and collaboration

early and often we make a difference for

the collections that belong to this

nation

in the quiet times as well as the

challenging ones

let me take you back in time for a

moment to one of those challenging days

february 10 2010. i was working at the

national air and space museum when

on that february day one of our

collection storage buildings partially

collapsed

due to 33 inches of snow and high winds

the building was already closed due to

the snowfall so thankfully

no one was in the building at the time

when i heard the news

my heart sank our first instincts as

collection stewards was to get on site

and pull

all the objects out of the building

immediately this is not what happened

and it was not the right way to be

thinking human lives and safety come

first

that was my baptism by snow into the

world of collections of emergency

management

we were not permitted back into the

building for several days

in the meantime we got ourselves our

facility and our plan

ready for recovery of the collections

and 26 days later

we went to work on march 18th it was all

hands on deck

and the recovery began and continued

through several campaigns

until the 10th of may within three

months we went from a stable building

and happy standard operations

to a barren concrete slab and months of

documentation

stabilization and reorganization of the

collections

this was a severe but rare event

the building collapse was costly but it

was not on the same scale

what i’m about to describe since 2010

it has been quote an unprecedented

decade

of billion-dollar disasters unquote

according to a report from the national

oceanic and atmospheric association

this year there have been 10 disasters

to date

that have cost 1 billion or more in

recovery

the number and cost of disasters are

multiplying over time

due to a combination of exposure

vulnerability

and that climate change is increasing

the frequency of some types of extremes

that lead to billion dollar disasters

these events affected not only homes

but also cultural sites considering this

data

and the building collapse the

smithsonian has taken positive steps

to prepare for collections emergencies

that may be the result

of these types of disasters one

significant step

in 2016 included the creation of a team

that i have the honor to lead

the preparedness and response in

collections emergencies team

price this is the first central

collections emergency response team for

the smithsonian

this team of eight cultural heritage

professionals

leave efforts to raise awareness of

everyday risks

as well as the extreme hazards and other

challenges

related to our changing social cultural

public health and environmental climate

the price team teaches smithsonian staff

what they can do today

to mitigate those risks and preserve the

collections for many years to come

there are only eight of us and we cannot

do the work of protecting and preserving

millions of collection items at the

smithsonian on our own

we need partners each day we work to

develop partnerships among our 6 000

colleagues

including staff from collections

security facility

safety and health exhibits and many

others

we learn with and from each other by

actively listening to one another’s

perspectives

and by doing joint training exercises

and workshops

these are things we can do today to keep

the collections and ourselves

safe tomorrow through the four stages of

the disaster life cycle

price teaches workshop participants to

mitigate risks

by completing assessments in their

storage and exhibit areas

think where are the problems and what

can i do

to remedy or prevent them for example a

leak occurs consistently near a basketry

collection

the collection is composed of handmade

baskets made from grasses

trees vines and bark these items used to

be sturdy enough to carry fruits and

vegetables

but are now hundreds of years old so the

baskets are not as strong as they once

were

collection staff document the specific

location of the leak

volume of water and effect on the

collections and share that information

with their facilities partners

so they can make the necessary repairs

this simple act of communication

supports mitigating this threat in the

future

we prepare all staff by providing

training like teaching handling

techniques for collection items

if that leak i mentioned suddenly

becomes more severe

anyone again regardless of their title

or department can be brought in to lend

a hand

once they’ve been given the opportunity

to practice handling stunt double

baskets

at one of our structured training

workshops think about how you would

handle a basket you bought yesterday

versus a basket that’s a family heirloom

you will probably be a bit more careful

with the heirloom

through practice during the peaceful

times we are better prepared to pitch in

to help each other during the

challenging times

price teaches staff how to respond

safely and forensically

we cover topics ranging from re-entry of

an affected building

documentation of the scene and mental

health in emergency response

for example we ask are you emotionally

prepared for the chaotic scene you may

walk into

damaged shelving bins of water

containing your life’s work

the fragile materials you’ve worked hard

to protect

if you’re not mentally prepared for that

it’s okay be honest with yourself

and your teammate there are many roles

to fill when it comes to the disaster

life cycle

recovery and triage techniques are

taught with the acknowledgement that it

could be years or even decades to

complete this stage

what is triage in the case of our

basketry collection

triage may include removing excess water

securing any loose pieces

and placing the basket in a container so

we don’t need to touch it directly if we

move it

given the time constraints of responding

to an emergency

the ultimate goal of triage is to

stabilize

so why do we and many other

organizations go through all these

trainings when severe events are rare

because supporting the safety and

stability of the collections today

ensures that we will still have them

tomorrow

and we are not the only ones who care

for our cultural heritage

we all have our own family treasures

that we steward

and hope to pass down to the next

generation these collection items and

cultural heritage sites

are powerful conduits that connect us to

each other

there’s an individual and a story behind

every collection item

whether it’s a specimen collected from

deep below the ocean’s waves or from

outer space

a person had the foresight to collect

and care for it behind the scenes

every letter written textile sewn

aircraft designed

orchid cultivated and basket woven that

personal connection

and story is part of what inspires us to

work together every day to preserve the

collections

price and our colleagues continue to do

our part to provide daily stewardship

positive communication and opportunities

for collaboration

to preserve and protect the collections

which we hold and trust for all of you

i wish that price had been around when

the storage building collapsed

we would have had a lot more tools in

our toolbox to respond with

we did not predict the collapse of the

building or the current pandemic

but we can prepare our cultural sites

and homes

for future emergencies by thinking ahead

about new risks from our changing

environment

every step we take together now no

matter how small

helps to steal ourselves for whatever

comes next

[Music]

you