By Peggy Schaller

People

The number one priority for any institution is life safety. Museums are no exception and, as public institutions, must make sure we provide a safe place for our staff and volunteers to work and for our visitors to enjoy themselves.

The staff interacts with the visitors and patrons on a daily basis. They also are charged with maintaining the building, making sure it is clean and presentable each day for those who come to visit the museum, and with making sure the building and grounds are safe. Staff members are also responsible for the Museum's collections--they document each artifact; prepare and maintain a safe place with proper storage materials for those items in storage; create safe and secure exhibit environments for those items being displayed in the Museum's galleries and public spaces; and maintain a current and accurate inventory of where each item in the collection is located.

Volunteers generally work directly with visitors and patrons alongside the paid staff. They may be charged with similar duties or may be assigned to man/woman the galleries and answer questions about the Museum and the exhibition(s). Volunteers may also be enlisted to assist staff with collections care and documentation.

As public institutions, Museums are charged with maintaining a safe environment for those who visit or use the resources provided by them. Therefore, the safety of our visitors and patrons is an important part of our jobs as museum staff or volunteers. A large percentage of museum visitors are the most vulnerable sector of our society--our children and our elders. Museums must be safe places for children to learn and have fun; and they must be safe places for elders to enjoy and move through without worries or hazards.

Finally, museums, like other businesses, must sometimes rely on outside contractors or workmen to perform maintenance or other tasks within the museum. The safety of these individuals must also be a concern for museum staff.

Museum Building

The Museum's building is the core of the institution--without it there would be no institution. The building must be protected from fire, vandalism, weather, water, and natural disasters. Routine maintenance is a must and repairs must be made timely to prevent leaks in roofs or skylights; rodent and insect pest problems; and/or unauthorized entry. Regular checks need to be made to the fire detection and suppression systems to ensure they are in working order; if alarms are used, these, too, need to be checked for any problems. Lighting needs to be checked and night security lights must be in working order.

The Museum grounds are the first line of defense for the institution. Be sure that they are well lit and that all exterior lighting is working. Keep plantings away from the building's walls--not only are these plants a great place to hide, they encourage small animals to make themselves at home in and around the building's foundation. If you have external exhibits or historic buildings, make sure these are secured against damage or theft both day and night. During open hours one of the best ways to insure the security of historic outbuildings is to utilize volunteer docents to give tours, talks and/or answer visitor's questions about each structure.

The Museum's collections--without collections most museums would cease to exist. There are, of course, non-collecting museums, but most small museums have very large collections.   Industry analysts state that in most museums 80% of their collections are in storage at any one time and only 20% are out on display. Therefore, the museum needs to have strategies to protect the collections in storage and the ones on display. There are some small museums that have everything on display, and this makes for a very crowded facility that may be difficult to adequately protect--small items could disappear without anyone even noticing, particularly if much of the display is open and not inside secured cases.

Storage facilities need to be secured and have access restricted to only those who are charged with the care of the collection--not everyone needs keys to the store. Displays need to be monitored periodically during the day and checked at closing and again during the opening of the museum.

Property of others including items on loan from other institutions for display; items on loan from individuals for display, evaluation or potential donation; and employee and visitor property need to also be protected.

Response

Policies and Procedures

Policies and Procedures MUST be written down and given to every staff member--paid or volunteer--and the Museum administration must not only read, understand and follow the policies themselves, they must make sure all the staff understand and follow them.

What policies and procedures?

• Collections Management Policies and Procedures
• Hiring Procedures that include background checks for everyone
• Access Procedures for non-public areas of the museum

Excerpt from Security for the Small Museum Workshop available through Collections Research for Museums and presented by Peggy Schaller regionally to small (tiny) museums wanting to learn low and no cost security options. For more information on this workshop visit the  Collections Research for Museums website.