Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. October Care of Collections Reading Group 2. RE: Call for Survey Participants: Rapid ATP Tests in Conservation 3. RE: DEADLINE EXTENSION - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - JAIC special issue on CONSERVATION OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Meagen Smith Posted: Wednesday September 2, 2026 6:08 AM Subject: October Care of Collections Reading Group Message: The Care of Collections Reading Group explores and discusses open access articles covering preservation, collection care and collection wide conservation such as environmental monitoring, risk management, collection moves, etc. This activity provides an accountability partner for reading through the new or established research as a method of keeping our awareness high.** The group meets the first Tuesday, every two months for an hour of discussion 16.00 BST. All are welcome to attend –though if you haven't read the book/journal/article, you won't miss any spoilers: degradation, embrittlement, climate change! **6 October, 2026 via Zoom. **Session reading choice is: Thickett, D. (2020). Sustainable collections environments. Estudos De Conservação E Restauro, (11), 93–103. DOI https://doi.org/10.34632/ecr.2020.9590 Please sign up with the Doodle poll https://doodle.com/sign-up-sheet/participate/55969a73-ecb0-4c20-b0df-ce7ceace3cbc/select or email [email protected] Reminders with Zoom call details will be sent one week and one day in advance. See you all in October. Meagen ------------------------------ Meagen Smith Library and archive conservator Lambeth Palace Library ------------------------------ 2.From: Dermot Cox-Kearns Posted: Wednesday September 2, 2026 7:44 AM Subject: RE: Call for Survey Participants: Rapid ATP Tests in Conservation Message: Hello Andrea I don't think other saying that the ATP Bioluminesce testing could be a good possible application for conservation work, that I can help you very much. Many years ago in the early days of the commercialisation of ATP Bioluminescence contamination control methods, I was involved with it in Ireland, in fact I was the first person in Ireland trying to sell Biolunlminescence ATP testing in the country, with a system made by Lumac out of Finland. If you feel that I could have something to contribute please feel free to contact me [email protected]. Back about 15 years ago I did think it might have some application for conservation preservation work, I had a conversation with a conservator about it, which did not go very far. One thing to consider when you run trials, is the possibility of cross contamination from the area you set up the tests in and also contamination from the storage methods you use for the photos after cleaning. In one incident in a soft drinks filling plant where I ran some trials we were getting positive results after very intensive cleaning of the filling equipment, it turned out to be caused by some of the cleaning cloths used, once that step in the cleaning process was sorted out, there were no more positive results. My gut instinct is that Bioluminesce ATP testing could definitely have applications in the conservation world, particularly where items might need quick processing and rehousing, most likely for long term rehousing. The best of luck with your research, I look forward to seeing the results at some stage. Kindest regards Dermot ------------------------------ Dermot Cox-Kearns Owner On The Edge Ashford - Wicklow Ireland ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 09-02-2026 01:49 From: Andrea Faustine Isaac Subject: Call for Survey Participants: Rapid ATP Tests in Conservation Hello everyone, My name is Andrea Isaac, I am a student in the Master of Cultural Materials Conservation programme through the Grimwade Centre, University of Melbourne. As part of my master's program, I am undertaking a minor thesis on the assessment of the mould remediation treatment on photographic materials through ATP-bioluminescence. This thesis is supervised by Dr. Caroline Kyi and co-supervised by Noni Zachri. Participation involves completing a short anonymous online survey which takes approximately 5-10 minutes. All conservators are welcome to answer this survey, whether or not you have experience with rapid ATP tests. If you would be willing to assist with my research, I would very much appreciate it. This project has human research ethics approval from The University of Melbourne under Ethics Approval 36083. The survey will remain open until October. Should you agree to participate, you will be provided with the plain language statement and consent form within the survey. The survey can be accessed via the link below: https://q.surveys.unimelb.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_daIGLFEulXlUp7w Short description: This research monitors the conservation treatment of a hand-coloured photograph that is heavily affected by mould. A luminometer will be used to measure the degree of contamination on the object by measuring the levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on the surface before and after treatment. Mould produces and releases ATP during their life cycles, which the luminometer samples and converts to bioluminescence (light). The amount of light detected is directly proportional to the degree of contamination. As such, the treatment aims to find decreasing values of bioluminescence as the treatment progresses. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or clarifications related to this project, and I look forward to your response via email. Kind regards,Andrea [email protected] <[email protected]>University of Melbourne ------------------------------ Andrea Faustine Isaac Graduate Student Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne Parkville Australia ------------------------------ 3.From: Ellen Chase Posted: Wednesday September 2, 2026 11:36 AM Subject: RE: DEADLINE EXTENSION - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - JAIC special issue on CONSERVATION OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Message: Hi Everyone, Just a reminder that the deadline for abstracts for the JAIC special issue on "CONSERVATION OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT" is coming up on September 15. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Thanks, Ellen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Journal of American Institute for Conservation (JAIC) and the organizers of the special issue seek submission on the topic of "Conservation Outreach and Community Engagement." Due to the enthusiasm for the 2025 AIC Annual Meeting Concurrent Session "We're All in This Together: Conservation Outreach and Community Engagement," the Outreach and K-12 subcommittees are putting together a special issue of the JAIC on the topic. The aim of the special issue is to expand upon the presentations from the annual meeting and highlight successful case studies as well as moments of reflection on challenges. Conservation outreach and engagement are inherently collaborative and encompass a wide range of activities, from writing a blog post to developing a K-12 curriculum. They can involve building relationships with anyone from fellow museum professionals to the general public. Outreach and storytelling are essential to the future of the field, but it can seem daunting to begin engaging in this work. We invite papers from anyone involved in outreach and community engagement work, including from people in private practice, emerging professionals, museum educators and other allied professionals. Article types sought include research articles, short case studies, literature reviews, and ethical considerations. AREAS OF INTEREST Areas of interest include but are not limited to: • Building diverse audiences and community engagement • Creating understanding with museum colleagues and allied professionals • Gaining buy-in and/or funding for cultural heritage preservation; political advocacy • K-12 or family programs and intergenerational learning • Outreach to artists • Experiences speaking with the media SUBMISSION DETAILS Authors are invited to submit an abstract in Word format (500 words max), including title of the proposed paper, and an article outline to the organizers by September 15, 2026, at [email protected] <[email protected]> or [email protected] <[email protected]>. The organizers will notify authors by October 31, 2026, of their decision, and selected articles must be submitted in their entirety through JAIC's online portal by April 30, 2027. Guidelines and style guide are at www.culturalheritage.org/journal <http://www.culturalheritage.org/journal>. You may send inquiries about the special issue to Ellen Chase and Rebecca Rushfield at the above email addresses. ------------------------------ Ellen Chase Objects Conservator Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 07-22-2026 13:29 From: Ellen Chase Subject: DEADLINE EXTENSION - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS - JAIC special issue on CONSERVATION OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT In order to give people time beyond the summer holiday season, the deadline to submit abstracts for the JAIC special issue on "Conservation Outreach and Community Engagement" is now September 15, 2026. Full details and additional deadlines are listed below: DEADLINE EXTENSION - CALL FOR ABSTRACTS JAIC special issue on "CONSERVATION OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT" The Journal of American Institute for Conservation (JAIC) and the organizers of the special issue seek submission on the topic of "Conservation Outreach and Community Engagement." Due to the enthusiasm for the 2025 AIC Annual Meeting Concurrent Session "We're All in This Together: Conservation Outreach and Community Engagement," the Outreach and K-12 subcommittees are putting together a special issue of the JAIC on the topic. The aim of the special issue is to expand upon the presentations from the annual meeting and highlight successful case studies as well as moments of reflection on challenges. Conservation outreach and engagement are inherently collaborative and encompass a wide range of activities, from writing a blog post to developing a K-12 curriculum. They can involve building relationships with anyone from fellow museum professionals to the general public. Outreach and storytelling are essential to the future of the field, but it can seem daunting to begin engaging in this work. We invite papers from anyone involved in outreach and community engagement work, including from people in private practice, emerging professionals, museum educators and other allied professionals. Article types sought include research articles, short case studies, literature reviews, and ethical considerations. AREAS OF INTEREST Areas of interest include but are not limited to: • Building diverse audiences and community engagement • Creating understanding with museum colleagues and allied professionals • Gaining buy-in and/or funding for cultural heritage preservation; political advocacy • K-12 or family programs and intergenerational learning • Outreach to artists • Experiences speaking with the media SUBMISSION DETAILS Authors are invited to submit an abstract in Word format (500 words max), including title of the proposed paper, and an article outline to the organizers by September 15, 2026, at [email protected] <[email protected]> or [email protected] <[email protected]>. The organizers will notify authors by October 31, 2026, of their decision, and selected articles must be submitted in their entirety through JAIC's online portal by April 30, 2027. Guidelines and style guide are at www.culturalheritage.org/journal <http://www.culturalheritage.org/journal>. You may send inquiries about the special issue to Ellen Chase and Rebecca Rushfield at the above email addresses. ------------------------------ Ellen Chase Objects Conservator Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to https://community.culturalheritage.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=d16eaa87-0f69-494b-9f2f-303dbc1222e1&sKey=fab9aa4f27a04c5d876e&GroupKey=757a8f16-505f-4323-8e74-e376757aa9f7.
