Background

To ensure collections are properly housed and maintained to federal standards, MCX CMAC provides architectural facilities assessment and design for repositories housing federal archaeological, historical, and archival collections.  Staff have the specialized expertise to evaluate and/or design facilities for the purpose of long-term care and storage of collections and their associated documentation.  Staff can provide expert guidance on specific standards, such as environmental controls, preservation strategies, storage containers, and shelving requirements for specific material types.

Services Offered

MCX CMAC staff are skilled in conducting assessments of existing and planned curation facilities for federal archaeological collections (i.e., artifacts and archives).  Assessment procedures are designed to ensure facilities are adhering to federal curation standards for storage and maintenance.

A team of curatorial experts can assess or design federal curation facilities to ensure that they:

• Allow for access to interested parties, such as researchers and tribal members
• Are built to withstand seismic activity, flooding, and other natural disasters
• Have fire protection/suppression systems
• Have pest management systems, including monitoring and control
• Have security systems to protect and control access to collections
• Have proper climate control systems for collections storage, including the monitoring and control of temperature and humidity
• Have a layout that adequately accommodates both collections storage/care and the people using/working in the building (e.g., staff and researchers)