Scholarly record

THE RISK MANAGEMENT AND MUSEUMS. NEW CHALLENGERS FOR MUSEUMS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

M. Tomastik, E. Pfeffer, K. Vichova, T. Kvasnicka, S. Davcikova

Abstract

Museums are essential memorial institutions that keep information about the lives of our ancestors. Museums are well-suited for collecting and preserving artifacts of all sorts. For long-term conservation of objects, it is essential that risk management processes are gradually introduced into the museum processes. Managers of the museums and cultural heritage managers regularly have to prioritize and decide how best to use available resources to protect collections, buildings, monuments and places. Firstly, that means that they have to choose between options such as increasing security against theft and vandalism, improving the maintenance of buildings to reduce water leakage, installing air conditioning in storage sites. Secondly, they have to decide between specialized services for pest protection, installation of fire alarms and fire systems, implementation of disaster preparedness and response plans, the building of new storage facilities. And finally, the purchase of "quality conservation" packaging materials, strengthening of protective and restoration adjustments. In the Czech Republic, the risk management methodology is not widely used in the museums. Although the Czech Republic has suffered significant catastrophes and minor accidents in the last twenty years, which have destroyed some museums. The paper analyzes the current state of risk management in the Czech Republic and offers areas that are defined as the most significant for the use of risk management in museums in the Czech Republic.

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