Northern States Conservation Center
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Providing collection care, preservation and conservation treatment services to collectors and collecting institutions.

   Training


















Online Collection Care Class Instructors









Training & Classes:    List of Classes by Instructor


Helen Alten, Conservator and owner of Northern States Conservation Center, St. Paul, MN has been a Field Education Director, Conservator, and trainer since 1986. Ms. Alten received her conservation diploma from Archaeological Conservation and Materials Science, Institute of Archaeology, University of London in 1986. She began working with people from small, rural, and tribal museums while as the state conservator for Montana and Alaska. Helen currently conducts conservation treatments and operates a conservation center in St. Paul, MN.

MS001: The Problem with Plastics ***NEW*** (short course)
              Jan 10, 2007 11 a.m. EST
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $75     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS004: When Collection Numbering Goes Bad ***NEW*** (short course)
              Sep 12, 2007 11 a.m. EST
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $75     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS008: Buy-In: Getting All of the Staff to Support Preservation ***NEW*** (short course)
              Feb 14, 2007 11 a.m. EST
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation
              Jan 7 - Feb 1, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS201: Storage for Infinity: An Overview of Museum Storage Principles
              Apr 13 - May 23, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS202: Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture
              Sep 2 - Sep 26, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS203: Museum Storage Techniques
              (Dates TBD - does not run in 2007)
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
              May 5 - May 30, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS208: Applying Numbers to Collection Objects: Materials and Methods of Object Numbering
              Feb 4 - Feb 29, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate
              Feb 4 - Mar 14, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS220: Plastics in Museums (free course)
              Anticipated opening 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $0.00 FREE CLASS     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


MS302: Fundraising for Collections Care
              May 5 - May 30, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Helen Alten


Gretchen Anderson, Objects conservator Gretchen Anderson learned her craft at the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian's Conservation Analytical Lab, the Canadian Conservation Institute, Getty Conservation Lab, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Minnesota Historical Society. She established the conservation department at the Science Museum of Minnesota in 1989. She is the co-author of A Holistic Approach to Museum Pest Management, a technical leaflet for the American Association for State and Local History and established a rigorous IPM program for the Science Museum. Ms. Anderson is a member of the American Institute for Conservation and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. She lectures and presents workshops on preventive conservation, IPM, and practical methods and materials for storage of collections.

Support for the course is provided by Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) in Berkeley, California. BIRC is a nonprofit organization offering over 25 years of insight, experience and leadership in the development and communication of least-toxic, sustainable and environmentally sound Integrated Pest Management methods.

MS003: Building a Better Mousetrap ***NEW*** (short course)
              Jun 13, 2007 11 a.m. EST
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $75     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Gretchen Anderson


MS210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives
              Apr 13 - May 23, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Gretchen Anderson with support from BIRC


MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
              Jan 7 - Feb 1, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Gretchen Anderson


Ernest A. Conrad For over 20 years, Mr. Conrad has focused on environmental issues. He is president of Landmark Facilities Group, Inc., an engineering firm specializing in environmental systems for museums, libraries, archives and historic facilities. A licensed mechanical engineer in several states, Mr. Conrad holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's in environmental engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A well-respected and honored member of many professional organizations, his greatest contribution to the preservation field was the development of environmental guidelines for engineers who work on museums, libraries and archives. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) publishes standards in the areas of HVAC and refrigeration. Mr. Conrad recently co-authored the ASHRAE Applications Handbook "Chapter 20: Museums, Libraries and Archives." For the first time, there are guidelines specific to our needs in the engineering literature. Mr. Conrad has studied environments and designed special climate control systems throughout the United States for clients as well-known as the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, The Frick Collection, Getty Conservation Institute, The Pierpont Morgan Library, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and National Park Service. He has a special interest in house museums and how climate affects structures and collections housed within those structures.

MS211: Preservation Environments
              Mar 3 - Mar 28, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Ernest A. Conrad


Ann Coppinger runs the conservation department and teaches conservation at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She has a master's in museum studies specializing in costume and textile conservation from FIT. She is a former NEA master apprentice at the Textile Conservation Workshop. Ms. Coppinger previously worked for 22 years in fashion in New York City. She has degrees in both fashion design and pattern making from FIT.

MS212: Care of Textiles
              May 5 - May 30, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Ann Coppinger


Karin Hostetter, author of a series of articles for the National Association for Interpretation’s Legacy magazine, has worked with volunteers for nearly 15 years. She taught the National Association for Interpretation’s two-day volunteer management course for volunteer coordinators and served on a panel about volunteer programs. As the first paid volunteer coordinator for the Denver Zoo in Colorado, she designed an interview process, developed a progressive and comprehensive recognition system, introduced interpretation into training, and restructured the volunteer organization. Ms. Hostetter now consults with organizations on structuring and improving volunteer programs. And she volunteers herself.

MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs ** NEW **
              Mar 3 - Mar 28, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Karin Hostetter


Kiersten F. Latham is the acting coordinator of the museum studies program at the University of Kansas. She has nearly 20 years of experience working in museums. Most recently she was the curator of collections at the Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center. Her interests include the meaning of objects, philosophy and history of the museum, and psychology of visitor experiences. She has worked in history, art, anthropology, science and children’s museums as an academic and professional.

MS101: Introduction to Museums ** NEW **
              Jul 7 - Aug 2, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Kiersten Latham


Stevan P. Layne is the principal consultant and chief executive of Layne Consultants International, a leading provider of cultural property protection advice. Steve is a former police chief, public safety director and museum security director. He is the author of the Cultural Property Protection Manual, and the Business Survival Guide. Steve regularly presents to professional associations and has consulted with more than 400 museums and other institutions. Steve is the founding director of the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection and responsible for the professional training and certification of more than 1,000 museum professionals.

MS107: Introduction to Museum Security
              Feb 4 - Feb 29, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Steven P. Layne


Susan Near recently became special projects manager at the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Prior positions at the Historical Society include director of museum services (1989-2007), curator of collections (1984-1989), and registrar (1982-1984). She also worked as collections research specialist at the Valley Forge Historical Society in Pennsylvania. She has been curator for more than 20 major exhibitions ranging from western art to decorative arts, and has conducted material culture research covering a broad range of collections. Near co-authored of Montana's State Capitol:The People's House, Montana Historical Society Press, 2002. Near has extensive administrative experience especially in grant-writing, heritage tourism, educational outreach, public relations, marketing, planning for new museum construction, and project and event management. She is an accreditation visiting committee member for the American Association of Museums, has conducted peer reviews for the Museums Assessment Program, and has reviewed and served on grants panels for the Institute for Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ms. Near is a graduate of the Museum Studies Program at the University of Delaware and the Getty’s Museum Management Institute.

MS109: Museum Management ** NEW **
              Sep 2 - Sep 26, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Sue Near


Lin Nelson-Mayson, with over 25 years of museum experience at small and large institutions, was recently the director of ExhibitsUSA, a nonprofit exhibition touring organization that annually tours over 30 art and humanities exhibitions across the country. For five years, she was a coordinator or judge for the American Association of Museums' Excellence in Exhibitions Competition. She currently serves on the exhibition committee for the National Sculpture Society. Ms. Nelson-Mayson has extensive experience with the planning, preparation, research and installation of exhibitions Ms Nelson-Mayson's experience includes teaching museum studies and museology courses. Her particular interest is the needs of small museums. She is now the director of the Goldstein Gallery at the University of Minnesota.

Her credentials include the following;
  • An MFA from The Ohio State University in sculpture and critical writing
  • A BFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in painting.
  • Work as a curator for the Ross County Historic Society (Chillicothe, Ohio), the Art Museum of South Texas (Corpus Christi), the Columbia Museum of Art (South Carolina), and the Minnesota Museum of American Art.


MS009: Guest Curators: The Exhibition Team plus Another ***NEW*** (short course)
              Apr 11, 2007 11 a.m. EST
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $75     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Lin Nelson-Mayson


MS106: Exhibit Fundamentals: Ideas to Installation
              Mar 31 - May 9, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Lin Nelson-Mayson


MS303: Found in the Collection: Orphans, Old Loans and Abandoned Property
              Feb 4 - Mar 14, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Lin Nelson-Mayson


Peggy Schaller, founded Collections Research for Museums in 1991 to provide consulting on cataloging, collection-management training and services. She has worked with a large variety of museums and collections for more than 13 years. Peggy, who lives in Denver, Colorado, has a bachelor's degree in anthropology with minors in art history and geology from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She has a master's degree in anthropology with a minor in museum studies from the University of Colorado in Boulder and is a certified institutional protection specialist.

MS007: The Mission Statement: Is it really that important? ***NEW*** (short course)
              Jul 14 - Jul 18, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $75     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Peggy Schaller


MS103: The Basics of Museum Registration
              Jan 28 - Feb 23, 2008 (Only runs once in 2008)
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Peggy Schaller


MS207: Cataloging Your Collection
              Jun 30 - Jul 26, 2008 (Only runs once in 2008)
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Peggy Schaller


MS218: Collection Inventories
              Oct 27 - Nov 22, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Peggy Schaller


Terri Schindel, graduated from the Courtauld Art Institute, University of London with a concentration in textile conservation. She has assisted small and medium sized museums in writing disaster plans for more than a decade and helped develop national standards for disaster-preparedness materials. Ms. Schindel specializes in collection care and preventive conservation and works regularly with small, rural and tribal museums.

MS002: Collection Protection - Are you Prepared? (short course)
              Mar 3 - 7, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $75     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Terri Schindel


MS205/6: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
              Mar 17 - May 16, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Terri Schindel


Eric Swanson works as a computer consultant for museums, libraries, non-profits and businesses and has designed and built Web pages since 1995. His work experience includes stints as the first Webmaster for the Minnesota Historical Society in 1997 and creating computer inventories of statewide historic structures, archeological sites and National Register of Historic Places for the state of Minnesota. Eric has worked with Northern States Conservation Center since 1997 as a consultant and Web designer. He has a degree in history from Colorado State University.

MS006: What is Your Museum's Web Presence? ***NEW*** (short course)
              Dec 12, 2007 11 a.m. EST
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $75     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Eric Swanson


MS214: Collection Management Databases
              Postponed until Fall 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Eric Swanson


William G. (Bill) Tompkins is the national collections coordinator for the Smithsonian Institution. Bill serves as a principal advisor to senior Smithsonian management and staff on collections-management policies, procedures and standards. He develops, implements and interprets Smithsonian collections management standards. This includes reviewing and approving the policies of the Smithsonian’s individual museums to make sure collections are maintained according to policy, professional standards and legal obligations. Previously, Bill was assistant director of the Smithsonian’s Office of the Registrar. He is also a former collections manager at the National Museum of American History. With nearly thirty years experience in the museum profession, Bill regularly speaks at professional meetings, workshops and university programs.

MS209: Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
              Mar 3 - May 9, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Bill Tompkins


Diana Komejan graduated from Sir Sandford Fleming College in 1980 with a diploma in Art Conservation Techniques. She has worked as a conservator with Parks Canada at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site in Nova Scotia and the Halifax conservation lab, where she worked on archaeological and historic artifacts from across east coast Canada. Diana also interned at the Kelsey Museum of Ancient and Medieval History in Ann Arbor, Mich. and spent 12 years as conservator with the Yukon Government in Whitehorse. In addition to lab treatments, Diana has broad archaeological experience, including the excavation of mammoths and dinosaur tracks. Diana now operates a private conservation business.

MS215: First Aid for Finds: Archaeological Collections Care
              Mar 31 - Apr 25, 2008
              Course Description & Info - Student Login
              Price: $425     [Add to Cart]   [View Cart]
              Instructor: Diana Komejan





Training Available
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P.O. Box 8081, St. Paul, MN 55108   Phone: (651) 659-9420

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Updated 14 Feb 2008