Time perspectives: What ‘the future’ means to museum professionals in collections‐care.

Abstract

Conservators and others with an influence on the care of collections are required to make very specific decisions for the future of these collections. Success of decisions can only be judged by their outcomes at some point in the future. In the absence of objective and explicit time scales, these professionals are likely to apply personal perspectives to their decision outcomes. When ‘the future’ represents different time periods among decision makers, this is a source of conflict and inconsistency. Museum professionals in the Victoria & Albert Museum and The Natural History Museum, London, and the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, were surveyed to determine their perspectives on the time‐period represented by ‘the future’ in collection‐care decisions. Respondents felt strongly that the needs of present and future users of collections should influence current decisions equally. They also tended to perceive ‘the future’ as 100 years but the wide range of opinions held appear to be personal choices among most respondents. It seems appropriate that decisions on proposed conservation treatments or planned strategies for collections care should be framed with an agreed perspective on the future period during which decisions outcomes are to be effective and their success or otherwise assessed.

Key words:

• time
• future
• perspectives
• collections‐care
• decisions
• survey