Within these old walls : collections care and sustainability in historic house museums

To promote institutional health and survival into the twenty-first century, historic house\ud museums are exploring new means for combining the preservation needs of the\ud collections with methods for achieving sustainability, such as reaching out to the\ud communities they serve, implementing new and engaging programs, and employing\ud proactive leaders and stewards of collections and sites. Properly caring for collections\ud ensures the future survival of objects and structures, but is only half of the equation. A\ud sustainable museum guarantees future provisions for preservation, and more importantly,\ud engages audiences and maintains relevancy in the community that benefits from the site???s\ud existence. This thesis aims to outline the practical measures for collections care in\ud historic house museums, as well as theoretical approaches toward sustainability, which\ud both work towards the same goal of safeguarding the tangible heritage of a place and\ud allowing audiences access for their education and enjoyment