Setting our direction: working together to develop a national approach to conservation of cultural heritage in Wales

摘要

This paper presents a summary of the formation of a steering group to devise and advocate for a common approach to conservation for the portable cultural heritage of Wales. The steering group set out to produce a bilingual document which contained an overarching statement of purpose to express the importance of conservation and preservation in Wales. To support the statement of purpose a set of conservation principles was devised to enable organizations to develop and implement specific action plans. The aim is to achieve the maximum impact in Wales by communicating a consistent message. The statement of purpose and conservation principles are targeted at the people who have a responsibility for the portable cultural heritage of Wales and beyond. This paper explains how and why this document was developed, how the principles can provide a framework for conservation policy, and how it will inform our approach to collections care. It illustrates the challenges of providing clear expression to common but indistinct concepts of conservation values and the value of exploring words and meanings to arrive at a common understanding.