Mobile Conservation Workplace Ark I. Efforts that deserve attention and a big thank you!

An effort that deserves attention and a big thank you!

The National Library of the Czech Republic, together with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Czech Committee of ICOM, the Military Technical Institute and with the support of private donors, built the mobile conservation workplace Archa I for the treatment of rare manuscripts, books and archival documents damaged or endangered during crisis situations. The special container, constructed in collaboration with restorers, military experts and other technicians, is equipped for the basic conservation procedures of disinfecting, cleaning, drying, vacuum packing and documenting paper documents. Ark I will be handed over to the staff of the Ukrainian Library Association and the National Library of Yaroslav Mudryi in Kiev for the preservation of cultural heritage objects. Representatives of the Technical Museum in Brno, the Methodological Centre for Conservation and the Commission of Conservators-Restorers of the Czech Association of Museums and Galleries had a unique opportunity to see this mobile workplace before its transport to Ukraine. They express their great admiration to their colleagues from the National Library of the Czech Republic for the successful completion of this exceptional project, as well as for their willingness to provide training to Ukrainian conservators both remotely and on-site. The mutual experience gained will surely be very useful and valuable in dealing with various emergency situations and the consequences of natural disasters throughout the cultural sector.

Alena Selucká

• Petra Vávrová (right), Director of the Department for the Preservation of Library Collections of the National Library of the Czech Republic, introduced Ark I to the museum staff – Ivo Štěpánek, Director of the Technical Museum in Brno and Chairman of the Commission of Conservators-Restorers of the Czech Association of Museums and Galleries, and his colleagues Alena Selucká and Karel Rapouch.
• A view inside the container of the mobile conservation workplace Ark I with equipment for conservation of books and paper documents.