The Canal Museum Trust recognises that a museum collection is held in trust for future generations. We take our responsibilities very seriously and aim to ensure that items entrusted to us for the future are cared for to the highest standard that it is practicable to achieve. In so doing we balance the needs of the present, for access, with those of future generations.
We define preservation as the action we take to extend the life of an artefact by preventing damage, or to retard deterioration.
We define conservation as the application of practical interventive measures to extend the life of an item.
It is our policy to continuously improve the conditions in which we care for our collection over the long term. We aim to achieve standards that meet and where possible exceed those recognized as current best practice in the United Kingdom. The Trust will allocate a budget and apply for such grants as may be available to ensure that the care of our collection is financed as a priority.
We will take active conservation action where:
In so doing we avoid damage to original components and retain in store any original components (or samples of components that are duplicated such as for example nuts and bolts) that have to be replaced.