Heritage Science Networks and public policies: the importance of protocols, standards, and normative tools, and the Brazilian Institute of Museums guidelines regarding collections risk management

Abstract

In recent years, countless collections have been destroyed by acts of vandalism, war crimes, negligence, and accidents. Their loss can be seen from the perspective of the potential loss of their studies, but above all by understanding their impact in relation to the emptying of the voices of native communities, destruction of the memory of religious, racial, political, cultural, and territorial properties of certain groups or societies, and the disappearance of production systems, both in relation to everyday and symbolic objects. In Brazil, the impact of fires on public museums amplifies these issues. In 2020, the Federal Government sanctioned the Resolution No. 2, providing for the technical and administrative procedures for the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of risk management plans for museums, within the scope of units managed by the Brazilian Institute of Museums - Ibram. This contribution intends to discuss the conceptual and technical issues regarding risk and conservation assessment, as well as the guidelines on the protection of collections in museums and connect it with the demands generated by the Ibram´s instructions. It is part of the research “Protocols for the sustainable management of collections in museums: technicalscientific skills for the definition of standards, recommendations, and public safeguard policies” financed by the National Agency of Research (CNPq)