Working with Conservation Data provides a practical, step-by-step guide that describes how to approach the issue of documentation in a professional conservation environment.

Documentation forms an essential part of conservation work, allowing conservators to preserve essential information about objects over time. With the increasing popularity of digital tools for documenting conservation work, it is important that a solid framework for organising this information is in place. Each chapter within this book corresponds to an individual step of a larger process of documentation, providing readers with not only a reference for specific parts of the process, but also a thorough guide to implementing or improving a conservation documentation system. The book explores important concepts involved in the documentation of conservation, as well as research and practical questions, and an analysis of implicit information embedded within conservation data and how it can be used to answer conservation questions. It also outlines best practices for producing conservation data and recommendations for structuring and sharing conservation data, so that documentation records can be easily retrieved and combined with other data.

Working with Conservation Data is an invaluable reference work suitable for conservators working on documentation projects, as well as professionals working in the computing and information departments of museums, galleries, libraries and archives.

Athanasios Velios studied conservation in Athens and London. He was Reader in Documentation at Camberwell College/Ligatus (UAL). He served IIC as a web master and initiated the Icon Documentation Network. He now works as Collections Data Manager for English Heritage.