Appropriate Storage for Museums Part 2

23 November 2018

Appropriate storage is important to the preservation of a museum’s collections. ​In this article, we consider the types of storage systems available to museums and how they can be best utilised.

Each museum has its own unique storage requirements and as collections grow the need for an organised and efficient storage system is a priority. In this article, we consider the types of storage available and how they can be used. For simplicity purposes, we’ll focus on the storage requirements of art, history, and war and military museums.  

Art Museums

Art museums will usually house and display a combination of paintings, ceramics, photographs, sculptures, metalwork and illustrations. Art museums will require customised art racks for the safe storage of paintings in addition to free-standing space for sculptures, ceramics and metalwork and plan cabinets for illustrations and photographs. 

War and Military Museums

Items preserved in a history museum vary greatly but may include documents, artefacts, antiques, archaeological findings and specimens. Due to the varying size of items stored in history museums, a combination of plan cabinets, longpsan shelving, cantilever shelving, shelving, pallet racking and mobile shelving with adjustable shelving, hanging space and pull out drawers and trays are likely required for the safe storage of these items. 

History Museums

Common items stored in war and military museums are weapons, uniforms, machinery, maps and photographs. These museums will benefit from a combination of longspan shelving, pallet racking, shelving, plan cabinets and mobile shelving with adjustable shelving, hanging space and pull out drawers and trays. 

Type of Storage

Art Racks

Adjustable art racks are ideal for the safe storage of paintings. Custom designed art racks can be designed to meet specific requirements and to store wall art of varying sizes. Art racks can also be incorporated into mobile shelving. 

Mobile Shelving 

Mobile shelving is an excellent storage solution for museums, enabling them to store more items in less space. APC’s mobile shelving systems are customisable to include adjustable shelving, longspan shelving, drawers and trays to store flat and long items such as documents and spears, and hanging space to store clothing, uniforms and costumes. 

Long Span Shelving 

Longspan shelving is a heavy-duty shelving option that can be used to store medium to large objects such as furniture, rugs and archive boxes. APC’s longspan shelving is capable of carrying loads up to 400kg per shelf. Longspan shelving complete with powder coated steel shelving is recommended because it is inert (chemically inactive). Many available furniture choices such as wood contain materials that contribute to the deterioration and discolouration of objects.

Pallet Racking

Pallet racking can be used to store heavy objects such as furniture or pieces of machinery.  We would advise against the use of commercially available pallet racking unless you are provided with detailed calculations showing the load capacity, testing and standard tests in accordance with AS 4084:2012 as you do not want to buy a poor quality storage system.APC’s pallet racking complies with these standards and can be built to meet specific weight-bearing load requirements. 

Plan Cabinets

Plan cabinets are designed to store and protect plans, drawings, maps, flags, documents and other small items. They are sometimes used by museums in conjunction with modular specimen trays to store small specimens. These trays allow objects to be secured within the drawer, so they don’t suffer damage when the drawer is opened and closed. 

Shelving

Steel shelving is versatile and can be used to store a wide variety of items such as archive boxes, models, artefacts, fossils and antiques. Shelving can also be enclosed with glass door cabinets, for the display and protection of birds, mammals, insect and antiques. APC’s steel shelving is capable of holding up to 100kg per shelf and shelves can easily be adjusted. 

Cantilever Racking

Cantilever racking can be used to store long, irregular and awkwardly shaped objects such as spears. Cantilever Racking provides ease of access to such objects. 

APC has provided storage fit-outs for a number of high-profile museums which has included customised furniture and storage systems to accommodate the requirements of specific collections. If you're looking for a storage solution for your museum, we can help.