Training for conservators—A changing profile?

Abstract

Summary In Germany, in the last decade, a change in working methods in conservation, especially in libraries and archives, has taken place. This change is partly the result of the foundation of academic training programmes in Stuttgart, Munich and Cologne. It is marked by a shift away from traditional artisanal ways of working to standardized industrial production techniques for mass-scale treatment of library and archive materials. In the educational programme at Stuttgart, new co-operative standards in training and research have been set up, involving industry, regional conservation centres and university institutions. New standardized conservation technologies and procedures have been developed, including marketable equipment for binding repair, ‘instant’ enzyme poultices, suitable fixing agents for water-soluble inks and dyes, aerosol treatments for consolidation of flaking paint layers and chemical stabilization of iron-gall ink corrosion. The developments in the profession have already led to a redefinition and enhancement of areas of responsibility in certain conservation positions.