What to Expect
Date: October 22, 2011
Location: Carnegie Music Hall Foyer, Pittsburgh
Time: 10 AM – 4 PM. Free with Museum Admission
See examples of protective enclosures and get suggestions for how to appropriately display and store family keepsakes.
Attend informal talks and demonstrations throughout the event and pick up free handouts about the care of your materials.
Explore prototypes of exhibit preservation methods with museum programming and conservation staff.
Enjoy a book dunk activity and learn what can be done to salvage water-damaged material.
The Preservation Fair is a one-day public information event at which conservators, archivists and librarians are available to discuss what individuals can do to save their family treasures. We recognize that all treasures are not housed in museums and take this opportunity to provide basic preservation information to the public. We have assembled approximately 30 exhibitors for this event, including conservators specializing in books, documents, paintings, works of art on paper, photographs and films. We will also offer a large collection of free handouts dealing with many aspects of preservation.
Bring your books, photographs, films, letters or other documents, paintings, textiles, or other family treasures for free basic conservation advice. Please note that, due to the popularity of this event, visitors are to being one item only. No appraisals or valuations will be given.
Through these one-on-one discussions and the availability of free handouts on basic care, we hope to provide visitors with basic preservation information. Visitors will learn simple things they can do to extend the life of their treasures – such as providing the appropriate storage conditions, as well as what to do in the case of water damage. It’s also an opportunity for the conservators to demonstrate what can be done by trained people – again trying to get the public to realize that there is a limit to what they can or should do, given serious damage to an item – and professional conservation work is worth the money.
The event is free with Museum admission; no separate registration is required.