Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) Notes
CCI Notes deal with topics of interest to those who care for cultural objects. Intended for a broad audience, the Notes offer practical advice about issues and questions related to the care, handling and storage of cultural objects. Many Notes are illustrated and provide bibliographies as well as suggestions for contacting suppliers. There are currently over 100 Notes in this ever-expanding series written by CCI staff members.
Care of collections – general guidelines
- N1/1 General precautions for storage areas () (PDF Version, 1.41 MB)
- N1/2 Cleaning Glass and Acrylic Display Cases () (PDF Version, 464 KB)
- N1/3 Closing a Museum for the Winter ()
- N1/4 Making Triwall Containers () (PDF Version, 1.02 MB). Consult also series 20.
- N1/6 Time Capsules () (PDF Version, 2.31 MB)
- N1/7 Mercury in Museum Collections () (PDF Version, 1.26 MB)
- N1/8 Lead in Museum Collections and Heritage Buildings () (PDF Version, 289 KB)
- N1/9 Low-Cost Plastic/Aluminum Barrier Foil () (PDF Version, 3.24 MB)
Preventive conservation
- N2/1 Ultraviolet Filters () (PDF Version, 300 KB)
- N2/2 Measurement of Ultraviolet Radiation () (PDF Version, 466 KB)
- N2/3 Track Lighting () (PDF Version, 630 KB)
- N2/6 Fire Protection Issues for Historic Buildings () (PDF Version, 1.44 MB)
- N2/7 Museum Fires and Losses () (PDF Version, 1.16 MB)
- N2/8 Automatic Sprinkler Systems for Museums () (PDF Version, 1.33 MB)
The museum environment: biological factors
- N3/1 Preventing Infestations: Control Strategies and Detection Methods () (PDF Version, 1.69 MB)
- N3/2 Detecting Infestations: Facility Inspection Procedure and Checklist () (PDF Version, 980 KB)
- N3/3 Controlling Insect Pests with Low Temperature () (PDF Version, 64 KB)
- N3/4 Psocids or "Book Lice": a Warning of Dampness () (PDF Version, 596 KB)
Archaeological and field conservation
- N4/1 Identifying Archaeological Metal () (PDF Version, 161 KB)
- N4/2 Vacuum Freeze-drying Archaeological Artifacts () (PDF Version, 158 KB)
- N4/3 Conservation of Wet Faunal Remains: Bone, Antler, and Ivory ()
- N4/4 Test for Chloride Ions in Iron Treatment Solutions Using Quantab Test Strips ()
- N4/5 How to Test for Chloride Ions in Iron Treatment Solutions Using Silver Nitrate ()
Ceramics and glass
Indigenous materials
- N6/1 Care of Ivory, Bone, Horn and Antler ()
- N6/2 Care of Basketry () (PDF Version, 476 KB)
- N6/3 Care of Canoes, Kayaks and Umiaks ()
- N6/4 Care of Objects Decorated with Glass Beads ()
- N6/5 Care of Quillwork ()
- N6/7 Totem Poles Displayed Indoors () (PDF Version, 385 KB)
- N6/8 Totem Poles Displayed Outside ()
- N6/9 Care of Inuit Carvings () (PDF version, 701 KB)
Furniture and wooden objects
Leather, skin and fur
Metals
- N9/1 Recognizing Active Corrosion () (PDF Version, 2.01 MB)
- N9/2 Storage of Metals () (PDF Version, 166 KB)
- N9/3 The Cleaning, Polishing and Protective Waxing of Brass and Copper () (PDF Version, 163 KB)
- N9/4 Basic Care of Coins, Medals and Medallic Art () (PDF Version, 161 KB)
- N9/5 Tannic Acid Coating for Rusted Iron Artifacts, formerly published under the title Tannic Acid Treatment ()
- N9/6 Care and Cleaning of Iron () (PDF Version, 157 KB)
- N9/7 Silver – Care and Tarnish Removal () (PDF Version, 265 KB)
- N9/8 Mechanical Removal of Rust from Machined Ferrous Surfaces () (PDF Version, 227 KB)
- N9/9 Care of Objects Made of Zinc () (PDF Version, 146 KB)
- N9/10 How to Determine Metal Density ()
- N9/11 How to Make and Use a Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Silver Polish ()
- N9/12 How to Plate Silver onto Copper Alloys Using Chemicals ()
- N9/13 Preventing and Treating the Dezincification of Brass ()
- N9/14 Preparing Silica Gel for Contained Storage of Metal Objects ()
Paintings and polychrome surfaces
- N10/1 Cleaning Paintings: Precautions ()
- N10/2 Making Padded Blocks ()
- N10/3 Storage and Display Guidelines for Paintings ()
- N10/4 Environmental Guidelines for Paintings ()
- N10/5 Emergency Treatment of Water-damaged Paintings on Canvas ()
- N10/6 Condition Reporting – Paintings. Part I: Introduction ()
- N10/7 Condition Reporting – Paintings. Part II: Examination Techniques and a Checklist ()
- N10/8 Framing a Painting ()
- N10/9 Keying Out of Paintings ()
- N10/10 Backing Boards for Paintings on Canvas ()
- N10/11 Condition Reporting – Paintings. Part III: Glossary ()
- N10/12 Removing a Painting from its Frame ()
- N10/13 Basic Handling of Paintings ()
- N10/14 Care of Paintings on Ivory, Metal, and Glass ()
- N10/15 Paintings: Considerations Prior to Travel ()
- N10/16 Wrapping a Painting ()
- N10/17 Know Your Paintings – Structure, Materials and Aspects of Deterioration ()
Paper and books
- N11/1 Making Enclosures for Books and Paper Objects ()
- N11/2 Storing Works on Paper () (PDF Version, 1.52 MB)
- N11/3 Glazing Materials for Framing Works on Paper () (PDF Version, 1.37 MB)
- N11/4 Wheat Starch Paste () (PDF Version, 604 KB)
- N11/5 Matting Works on Paper () (PDF Version, 1.23 MB)
- N11/6 Removing Paper Artifacts from Their Frames () (PDF Version, 957 KB)
- N11/7 Basic Care of Books ()
- N11/8 Display Methods for Books ()
- N11/9 Framing Works of Art on Paper () (PDF Version, 1.06 MB)
- N11/10 Encapsulation () (PDF Version, 1.22 MB)
Stone and plaster
Textiles and fibres
- N13/1 Textiles and the Environment ()
- N13/2 Flat Storage for Textiles () (PDF Version, 190 KB)
- N13/3 Rolled Storage for Textiles () (PDF Version, 287 KB)
- N13/4 Velcro Support System for Textiles () (PDF Version, 487 KB)
- N13/5 Hanging Storage for Costumes () (PDF Version, 2.77 MB)
- N13/6 Mounting Small, Light, Flat Textiles () (PDF Version, 1.37 MB)
- N13/7 Washing Non-coloured Textiles () (PDF Version, 840 KB)
- N13/8 Applying Accession Numbers to Textiles () (PDF Version, 377 KB)
- N13/9 Anionic Detergent () (PDF Version, 114 KB)
- N13/10 Stitches Used in Textile Conservation () (PDF Version, 3.03 MB)
- N13/11 Natural Fibres () (PDF Version, 256 KB)
- N13/12 Storage for Costume Accessories () (PDF Version, 922 KB)
- N13/13 Commercial Dry Cleaning of Museum Textiles () (PDF Version, 185 KB)
- N13/14 Testing for Colourfastness () (PDF Version, 148 KB)
- N13/15 Mould Growth on Textiles ()
- N13/16 Mechanical Surface Cleaning of Textiles () (PDF Version, 5.42 MB)
- N13/17 Conservation Framing of Embroideries and Other Flat Textiles ()
- N13/18 The Identification of Natural Fibres () (PDF Version, 673 KB)
Modern materials and industrial collections
- N15/1 Care of Objects Made from Rubber and Plastic ()
- N15/2 Care of Machinery Artifacts Displayed or Stored Outside ()
- N15/3 Display and Storage of Museum Objects Containing Cellulose Nitrate () (PDF Version, 1.58 MB)
- N15/4 Indoor Display of Industrial Collections () (PDF Version, 1.49 MB)
- N15/5 Lubrication for Industrial Collections () (PDF Version, 1.26 MB)
- N15/6 Trade Literature for Industrial Collections () (PDF Version, 1.18 MB)
- N15/7 Rubber Components in Industrial Collections () (PDF Version, 1.44 MB)
- N15/8 Outdoor Storage and Display: Basic Principles () (PDF Version, 2.66 MB)
- N15/9 Outdoor Storage and Display: Remedial Measures () (PDF Version, 2.67 MB)
Care of photographic materials
- N16/1 Care of Encased Photographic Images ()
- N16/2 Care of Black-and-White Photographic Glass Plate Negatives ()
- N16/3 Care of Black-and-White Photographic Negatives on Film () (PDF Version, 160 KB)
- N16/4 Care of Black-and-White Photographic Prints () (PDF Version, 164 KB)
- N16/5 Care of Colour Photographic Materials ()
- N16/6 Processing contemporary black-and-white photographic films and papers for maximum permanence ()
Spot tests in conservation
- N17/1 The Beilstein Test: Screening Organic and Polymeric Materials for the Presence of Chlorine, with Examples of Products Tested () (PDF Version, 1.07 MB)
- N17/2 The Diphenylamine Spot Test for Cellulose Nitrate in Museum Objects () (PDF Version, 740 KB)
- N17/3 How to Test for Copper and Lead ()
- N17/4 How to Test for Iron and Nickel ()
- N17/5 How to Test For Sulfur in Materials Using Lead Acetate Test Paper ()
- N17/6 How to Test for Gold and Tin ()
Conservation equipment
Electronic media
Art in transit
N1/4 is also part of the Art in transit series.
Contact information for this web page
These resources were published by the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI). For comments or questions, including reproduction requests, contact the CCI.