46 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
There is at least 1 FTE Curator and 1 FTE Registrar at each library. Additional FTE Museum Technicians, Exhibit
Specialist, Exhibit Technician, and PT student hires vary for individual libraries. Some of these positions (FTE or PT) are
paid for by the library’s Trust Fund or Foundation. Across all of the library museums, there are usually around 75–80
FTE. In addition, there are 20 individuals and 18 FTE in Center for Legislative Activities, and 17 individuals in Presidential
Materials and 15 FT in the same office.
Various individuals from different library units spend some time on this collection, but none is specifically assigned to
this collection.
Challenges of Managing Art Objects and Artifacts
34. Please briefly describe up to three challenges of managing art objects and/or artifacts. N=63
Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Challenge 3
Amount of space they require. Unusual size and shape often requires
unique non-standard shelving and/or
boxes.
Description standards do not apply to
many of the objects in our collection,
making it difficult to adequately describe
or represent them in catalogs and
databases.
Appropriate storage and space. Appropriate housing and preservation. Continued development of staff expertise
in this area.
Art objects/artifacts consume enormous
amounts of space, especially if properly
housed.
Preserving and curating art objects/
artifacts often requires a knowledge
of conservation techniques that are
not in the standard repertoire of library
preservation departments. Just knowing
the science of inks and pigments
represents a huge departure from
standard paper-oriented techniques.
Although they can lend important
accents to library exhibits, artifacts tend
to be overlooked by librarians unless their
curators push for discovery and inclusion.
As library collections, we do not have
proper and sufficient storage and display
facilities.
Our librarians are not curators in the art
sense--and perhaps not the best people
to arrange/describe/make useful our
collections of art and artifacts.
No funding or staffing support for these
collections.
Cost of supplies to house items. Cost of staff time to house items. Limited expertise in dealing with some
kinds of art (e.g., pastels) or preservation
issues unique to paintings (e.g., cracking
paints on deteriorating canvas).
Describing and providing access in a cost-
effective manner lack of certainty about
information the public needs in order to
locate artifacts.
Collection management issues in a
collection geared toward archives and
manuscripts (appraisal standards, value
of objects, etc.)
Knowing when (or if) to apply museum
standards in a collection geared toward
archives and manuscripts.
There is at least 1 FTE Curator and 1 FTE Registrar at each library. Additional FTE Museum Technicians, Exhibit
Specialist, Exhibit Technician, and PT student hires vary for individual libraries. Some of these positions (FTE or PT) are
paid for by the library’s Trust Fund or Foundation. Across all of the library museums, there are usually around 75–80
FTE. In addition, there are 20 individuals and 18 FTE in Center for Legislative Activities, and 17 individuals in Presidential
Materials and 15 FT in the same office.
Various individuals from different library units spend some time on this collection, but none is specifically assigned to
this collection.
Challenges of Managing Art Objects and Artifacts
34. Please briefly describe up to three challenges of managing art objects and/or artifacts. N=63
Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Challenge 3
Amount of space they require. Unusual size and shape often requires
unique non-standard shelving and/or
boxes.
Description standards do not apply to
many of the objects in our collection,
making it difficult to adequately describe
or represent them in catalogs and
databases.
Appropriate storage and space. Appropriate housing and preservation. Continued development of staff expertise
in this area.
Art objects/artifacts consume enormous
amounts of space, especially if properly
housed.
Preserving and curating art objects/
artifacts often requires a knowledge
of conservation techniques that are
not in the standard repertoire of library
preservation departments. Just knowing
the science of inks and pigments
represents a huge departure from
standard paper-oriented techniques.
Although they can lend important
accents to library exhibits, artifacts tend
to be overlooked by librarians unless their
curators push for discovery and inclusion.
As library collections, we do not have
proper and sufficient storage and display
facilities.
Our librarians are not curators in the art
sense--and perhaps not the best people
to arrange/describe/make useful our
collections of art and artifacts.
No funding or staffing support for these
collections.
Cost of supplies to house items. Cost of staff time to house items. Limited expertise in dealing with some
kinds of art (e.g., pastels) or preservation
issues unique to paintings (e.g., cracking
paints on deteriorating canvas).
Describing and providing access in a cost-
effective manner lack of certainty about
information the public needs in order to
locate artifacts.
Collection management issues in a
collection geared toward archives and
manuscripts (appraisal standards, value
of objects, etc.)
Knowing when (or if) to apply museum
standards in a collection geared toward
archives and manuscripts.
