Caring for Heritage Collections during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This webinar was presented on April 21, 2020 to address questions about collections contamination, disinfection of museum spaces, and risks to museum collections during long-term shut down. It was organized by the Ontario Museum Association and is available on its official Youtube channel.

Cultural heritage institutions are coping with many challenges as the world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic. While collections are not directly at risk, the pandemic complicates their care. In this webinar, Irene Karsten, Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI), shares information and recommendations compiled by the CCI to help those responsible for heritage collections. The information shared was based on the evolving collective knowledge of the public health and infectious disease research communities merged with what the institute already knows about keeping collections safe.

Some of the areas covered in the webinar are:

• Contamination of collection materials
• Disinfection of collection or heritage facilities
• Dealing with closure and opening
• Social distancing guidelines to protect the people and museum objects form infection