Professional Development and Workshops
The Georgia Archives hosts and holds professional development workshops throughout the year.
Upcoming Seminar
Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Essential Records (DPRER) Seminar
The Georgia Archives is excited to announce the upcoming Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Essential Records (DPRER) Seminar, which will take place from November 13-15, 2024. Participants will be provided with comprehensive training on how to identify and protect vital records in the face of emergencies, including tornadoes, floods, and fires. The seminar will focus on proactive planning and recovery strategies to safeguard critical documents and ensure continuity during and after a disaster. Continuing Education credits through the Georgia Records Association will be offered for members who attend and complete seminar assignments.
Program and registration information can be found here.
Conservation Education & Training at the Georgia Archives
Conservation/Preservation Workshops
The Georgia Archives hosts workshops related to conservation and preservation. These workshops are taught by the Archives Conservator as well as established conservation professionals in other disciplines, such as paintings conservation and book conservation. The workshops are typically 3 days long; however, the length can be adjusted based on the requirements of the attendees. Previous workshops include Preventative Conservation; Introduction to Paper Conservation; Intermediate Paper Conservation; Book Repair for Circulating Collections; Creating Custom Enclosures; Archival Mounting for Photographs and Flat Paper; and Introduction to Paintings Conservation.
Please check the Georgia Archives website and follow our Facebook page for upcoming workshops or contact the Georgia Archives if you would like to request a workshop for your institution or agency.
2024 Preventive Conservation Workshops
Pre-Program Conservation Internships
The Georgia Archives Conservation department annually hosts an internship program over the summer for aspiring conservators who would like to gain hands-on experience in a working conservation lab under the supervision and guidance of trained conservators. The conservation staff work closely with the selected interns to give them a well-rounded education in conservation theory and ethics, best practice, book and paper treatment, and the scientific under-pinning of damage and the treatments. The interns have the opportunity to work on both mock-ups as well as collection objects to develop and practice their skills.
Please check the Georgia Archives website and follow our Facebook page for updates on the internship.
August 2024 - From the Vaults Newsletter, “Meet the 2024 Pre-Program Conservation Interns”
2020 Conservation interns at work
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Paper Conservation Workshop
The Georgia Archives Conservator, Sigourney Smuts, taught the previously postponed Introduction to Paper Conservation Workshop component of the Spring Book and Paper Preservation/Conservation Workshop Series at the start of August. The workshop included tape removal, dry surface cleaning, tear repairs, humidification and flattening, and creating an original pencil drawing to work on besides the samples. The group was a wonderful mix of professional conservators, pre-program conservation students, and those who are interested in the field and caring for their own items.
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Conservator Sigourney Smuts describes the various materials that are used during the workshop. Each attendee was given their own set of samples to refer back to.
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Conservator Sigourney Smuts demonstrates, with the assistance of a large screen live stream, the process of pressure sensitive tape removal.
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Georgia Archives Pre-Program Summer Intern Jenni Krchak removes various types of tape from aged and unaged samples using a heated spatula. Hint: the aged tape is a bit more difficult to remove.
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Workshop attendee Laura removes various type of tape using a heated platen.
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Workshop attendee Bonnie compares various methods of removing (fake) surface dirt from different types of paper.
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Workshop attendee Olivia places her cockled paper sample into a bath with water beneath the plastic grid. By covering the bath with Plexiglas to trap the moisture, a humidity chamber is created to relax the paper and allow it to be flattened.
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Workshop attendee Laura pastes up a sheet of polyester film to create remoistenable tissue for quick tear repairs with minimal moisture.
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Workshop attendees hard at work conserving their paper documents. So focused!
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Thank you to the Introduction to Paper Conservation class of 2020!
