The Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM) is Australia's national membership organisation for

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

professionals. Its members are mainly professional conservators, conservation students and cultural heritage member organisations in the Australian and Pacific region. It provides services for members and resources for the public and associated cultural heritage organisations and liaises with other professional associations including the

Australian Library and Information Association The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. ...

(ALIA), the Australian Society of Archivists and

Australian Museums and Galleries Association The Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA), formerly Museums Galleries Australia and Museums Australia, is the national professional organisation and peak council for museums and public art galleries in Australia. It advocates for ...

. AICCM has seven state and territory divisions.

History

The Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (ICCM) formed in 1973. At that stage it was anticipated the ICCM would at some point merge with the International Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC), but the ICCM became an incorporated Australian Association in 1978. The AICCM ''Bulletin'' was first published 1975, out of the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

(ANU). A Code of Ethics and Code of Practice were first proposed in 1982 and adopted in 1987. In 1987 the ICCM also formally changed its name to the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM). For many years based in Canberra, ACT, since 2004 the AICCM has maintained a web-based Secretariat service and online member services. Throughout its history, the AICCM has maintained close ties to tertiary conservation training programs in Australia, including the various conservation courses at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

and the Grimwade Centre at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

Description

The AICCM has seven state and territory divisions (Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia & Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia) and 12 active special interest groups (Book & Paper, Conservation Framers, Conservation Science, Electron, Emerging Conservators, Exhibition Conservation, Gilded Objects, Objects, Paintings, PHOTON, Preventive Conservation, and Textiles). The national AICCM, state divisions and groups are led by elected volunteer positions.

Activities

Gatherings

Structured gatherings include biennial national conferences and special interest group conferences. In addition, topical seminars, short talks, workshops, and social gatherings are often organised on the state division or special interest group level.

Resources

The AICCM operates by a Code of Ethics and Practice, a professional code which keeps members accountable and acts as a guide to help ensure a high professional standard. The AICCM website contains a variety of resources on collection care and conservation. Presently, an online wiki is under development by members, beginning with the topic 'Sustainable Collections' covering sustainability in conservation and related practice.

Publications

The ''Bulletin'' is the AICCM's peer-reviewed journal. Since 2015 it has been produced in partnership with academic publishers

Taylor and Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

. The ''National Newsletter'' is currently published five times per year, in electronic form only. The AICCM has also produced preprints of papers presented at national conferences and special interest group meetings. The AICCM contributed to a number of publications aimed at assisting small museums and galleries, and funded by the now defunct Heritage Collections Council (HCC): ''reCollections'' (2000), ''Be Prepared'' (2000), and ''Guidelines for Environmental Control of Cultural Institutions'' (2002).

AICCM Environmental Guidelines for Australian Cultural Heritage Collections

The AICCM has released a set of environmental guidelines in response to the IIC and ICOM-CC 2014 Declaration on Environmental Guidelines. These guidelines are driven by three guiding principles: * Sustainability and resilience * Adaptive and proactive practices * Maintaining relevance These guidelines are to ensure that the environmental conditions are suited for the local

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

with a goal of mitigating climate change through these passive and low-energy solutions.

Professional membership

AICCM has a voluntary professional membership category. Professional members can use the post-nominal letters PMAICCM (Professional Member, Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials).

References

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External links

Official websiteAICCM Environmental Guidelines for Australian Cultural Heritage Collections
Professional associations based in Australia Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage Conservation and restoration organizations