The Offsite Collection Storage Project for the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Santiago, Chile) 2009-2019

Abstract

As a result of almost 200 years of scientific activity and the enactment of different legal mandates, including specific requirements stipulated by the National Monuments Act of 1970, the collections of the Chilean National Museum of Natural History (MNHN, founded in 1830) have grown considerably since the museum's creation. However, it has been impossible to fulfill optimal preventive conservation requirements in the current building, which dates to 1875. After the problem was identified, a collection management project was implemented: one that included setting up off-site storage to house the existing collections at MNHN and include room for growth. The challenge was to secure funding for an off-site building that would fit the purpose; meanwhile, the collections needed to be prepared for the move. The project was carried out over 10 years, between 2009 and 2019, and succeeded in improving a significant percentage of the total collection. This article discusses this unique national project as a case study, describing the processes carried out to complete it, its challenges, and the main lessons learned.

Keywords:

• Collection management
• off-site storage
• preservation
• planning
• museology
• case study

Notes

1 Previous attempts were made without success; with the recruitment of Claude Gay in 1830 the museum project was launched, and he became its first Director.

2 In 1929, with the issuance of the Decree with Force of Law No. 5.200, the MNHN became part of the General Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Museums (DIBAM), a body that brought together all the national institutions of this type. In early 2018, the Chilean Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage was created alongside the National Service for Cultural Heritage (Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural, SNPC) which became the legal successor of the DIBAM.

3 The Parque Quinta Normal was the first public park of its kind in Chile. Founded in 1842, its area diminished as the city of Santiago expanded westward in the 19th and 20th centuries. The total surface area at the height of it is development was 135 hectares; today, it measures approximately 35 hectares.

4 The National Centre of Museology was inaugurated at the MNHN on 12 June 1968. The essential purpose of this educational body was training and further education for mid-level staff in the field of museology. It operated until 1974. Its students took part in the ‘Round table on development and the role of museums in the contemporary world,’ organised by UNESCO and ICOM, and more commonly known as the ‘Santiago Round Table of 1972’.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Claudio Gómez

Claudio Gómez is the Jefferson Chapman Executive Director of the McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture (Knoxville, Tennessee), and former Director of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (MNHN) in Santiago, Chile (2007-2019).

Cristian Becker

Cristian Becker is Head Curator and Chief Scientist at MNHN, and former Director of the Natural History Museum of Valparaíso, Chile (2006-2008).

Leslie Azócar

Leslie Azócar is Director of the Gabriela Mistral Museum (Vicuña, Chile), and the former Head of Collections at the MNHN (2009-2013).