American experts help improve document preservation capacity at Vietnamese museums

Experience exchange workshop at Hanoi Museum. (Photo: Hanoi Museum)

From October 15-17, Hanoi Museum organized training sessions to improve the capacity of preserving photo collections for museums and archives in Vietnam.

This is part of the project to Archive and Preserve Memories 50 Years After the War, coordinated by the Hanoi Museum, Lai Xa Photography Museum, Nguyen Van Huyen Museum and the American Museum of Natural History.

The project aims at research, conservation, guidance and technology transfer in the preservation of artifacts in museums. Especially paper artifacts, film and photographic materials, although of great value, have not received due attention in Vietnam.

Painful lessons from Lai Xa photography village

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Huy said that the first phase of the project focuses on researching and inventorying the memory heritage, material heritage, especially the photographic heritage of martyrs at Lai Xa photography village (Lai Xa Photography Museum).

The project team visited each house, met with relatives and listened to the stories of 44 families of martyrs. Here the experts encountered a heartbreaking situation.

“Lai Xa, a famous photography village, is facing the risk of losing its memories. Too many family photos and photos of martyrs have been lost. Many families only have a few photos left, many of which have been restored. The sad reality is that the three families of martyrs we met no longer have a memorial photo, but instead use a Certificate of Merit from the Fatherland,” he said.

Experts, representatives and specialists from conservation and archival units visit Lai Xa Village Photography Museum. (Photo: Hanoi Museum)

Researchers point out that the reason for the loss of Lai Xa's photo resources is due to war, natural disasters, harsh living conditions and humid conditions. The way of preserving documents, especially photographic documents in the community, is not given due attention, is spontaneous and is preserved by people's instinct, without properly recognizing the importance of preserving original photos.

“Many people think that if an original photo is damaged, it is enough to enlarge it, reprint it, or draw a portrait of it, so they do not keep the original photo anymore. They do not know that the original photo carries within it the soul of an era, and is a unique and irreplaceable historical evidence. Lai Xa’s story is not the only one,” Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Huy commented.

Given this situation, he believes that museums and archives can help create a sustainable museum-community ecosystem. People’s documents will also become a valuable source for museums and archives to enrich the national heritage.

One proposal offers many solutions

Due to different budgets, equipment and human resources, each museum and archive center may have different solutions. Experts expect that suggestions from abroad will help units, and in return, sharing will build indigenous and valuable knowledge for conservation and archivists.

Participating as a specialist in the project, Ms. Barbara J. Rhodes from the American Museum of Natural History - one of the world's leading museums - will discuss methods of managing collections and building a basic storage system for preservation. She has more than 38 years of experience in document conservation here.

Ms. Barbara J. Rhodes. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

According to Barbara, the challenge with storing and preserving paper, film, and photographic artifacts in Vietnam is high humidity and insects - problems that are rarely encountered in archives in the United States. Documents can be rotten, termite-eaten, difficult to preserve, and even flammable (for nitrate film).

“I am honored to be part of the project. My job is to examine the artifacts, write reports and make recommendations on preservation methods for the managers in Vietnam,” the American expert shared.

Ms. Barbara discussed methods of managing document collections, building a basic storage system for preservation, making polarizing glasses to identify negative films, instructions on making photo boxes, shelves... in which the materials need to be friendly and available in the native country.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Da spoke at the training workshop within the project framework. (Photo: Hanoi Museum)

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Da, Director of Hanoi Museum, the project involves Lai Xa Photography Museum, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam History Museum, Vietnam Fatherland Front Museum, Ethnology Museum, Vietnam Ethnology Museum, and Police Museum.

In addition, the program also has the participation of Archives Center 3, the Institute of Monuments Conservation and Museums of the provinces: Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Hung Yen, Hai Phong, lecturers of the Faculty of Heritage, Hanoi University of Culture...

“We hope that the knowledge and experience shared in the workshop will be widely applied in museums across the country, actively contributing to the preservation and promotion of the value of national cultural heritage in the period of international integration,” the Director of the Hanoi Museum shared./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chuyen-gia-my-giup-nang-cao-nang-luc-bao-quan-tu-lieu-tai-bao-tang-viet-post1070542.vnp