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All collecting institutions should have some basic emergency supplies to deal with inevitable incidents such as roof leaks, burst pipes, fires, and storm damage. A reasonable question to ask is, how many supplies to have on hand? From the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts’ Emergency Supply Kits resource:

"Until an actual emergency, it can be difficult to determine how many supplies to have on hand. Based on the size and type of the collection, institutions should have enough supplies to fully handle a smaller emergency or to last the first 24 hours of a larger disaster until more supplies can be shipped."

Fortunately, preparing for emergencies doesn't have to be costly. While shopping for the DHPSNY salvage workshop supplies at a local dollar store, we noticed how many useful items were available there. Whether you are collecting things for your institution’s emergency supply kits or need to grab things on short notice to deal with an incident, a dollar store is a useful resource. All of these items are readily available at big box and hardware stores, as well as online.  

This year's DHPSNY Antiracism Programming takes inspiration from two key resources: the AASLH Making History at 250 Field Guide and the New York State 250th Field Guide. Our guiding question: How do we make our collecting organizations interdisciplinary and representative of the realities of our many New York histories?

Written by DHPSNY Dialogue co-facillitaor Aria Camaione-Lind, Principal & CEO, Aria Strategies LLC

Dear DHPSNY Community,

DHPSNY is continually evaluating our services to ensure we are meeting the needs of collecting institutions across New York State.

We have developed this short survey for you to share your thoughts, concerns, and emerging needs with us directly. We estimate it will take about 20 minutes to complete. Your responses will help inform the delivery and development of our programs and services moving forward!

Dew point is a term we occasionally hear on the weather report, but did you know it's a critical measurement for storing and exhibiting collections? In this recent DHPSNY webinar, Kelly Krish, Preventive Conservation and Sustainability Consultant, covered the basics of understanding dew point and how it relates to relative humidity in a collections environment.