The Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM), Canada, houses a collection of almost 7 million artifacts, archival records, and natural history specimens. Three comprehensive collection risk assessments over the past decade have resulted in improvements to the physical environments of the collections as well as new policies and procedures to reduce risk. However, there remain ongoing risks that can only be mitigated through major facility renewal. The last collection risk assessment, completed in 2016, was revisited to review the data and build a defensible case for funding to replace the RBCM's on-site collection storage facilities. Changes to overall collections risk is a complex function of collection development and use trends, evolving risk factors both internal and external to the museum, a growing understanding of the relationship between risks and preservation, in addition to reduction due to risk mitigation projects and building systems aging and wearing out. A defensible method for illustrating the facilities-related risks over time involves estimating the expected loss of individual collection items or loss in value of a group of items that may occur if a major facility upgrade or redevelopment is not realized in the near future. Risk assessment data for representative collection units were reviewed to differentiate risk due to permanent facility characteristics versus more active controls, operations budget controlled risk versus capital budget controlled risk, and collection management-controlled risk versus facility management-controlled risk. This enabled the risk model to isolate risks that could only be mitigated through major facility upgrades. Change in collection value was expressed as Object Equivalents Lost (OEL) and its compliment Object Equivalents Remaining (OER). Projections into the future indicating the effect of varying facility renewal dates could then be clearly shown. Losses, when presented as numbers of items expected to be lost from the collection, become emotionally salient to persons in senior management and governance roles.

Abstract A new system of storing adult Odonata (damselfly and dragonfly) specimens is described and compared to existing storage systems. The major design innovation is the use of tongue and groove (“zipper lock”) resealable polyethylene envelopes manufactured to fit the standard index card and specimen arrangement currently used in major collections. Other design improvements include low-cost, adhesive-free specimen trays and glass-top drawers built to fit in standard-dimension Cornell insect cabinets. Comparisons of materials and designs with other available systems are presented and discussed. Finally, examples are presented of this new system's applicability to other collections such as Lepidoptera and Archeology.

"The conservation in public of a Chinese Freemason lantern." Studies in Conservation, 59(sup1), pp. S201–S202

The Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) has a large and valuable collection of archival records, artifacts, specimens and associated information pertaining to the Province of British Columbia's human and natural history. In 2004 and again in 2010 the RBCM conducted a comprehensive risk assessment to identify and quantify the potential impact of threats to the collections. Methodology was based on the Cultural Property Risk Assessment Model (CPRAM). The RBCM risk assessment projects, which included over 30 staff members, were each completed over a period of several months. The results of the latest comprehensive review provide a corporate-wide perspective of the risks to the collection. Some risk related assumptions were confirmed and new issues came to light. As a result of these risk assessments, a Risk Management Implementation Plan has been developed to address the most damaging and imminent threats to the collections. A discussion of the evolution of risk assessment at the RBCM is included.