By Simon Lambert

We collections professionals are a creative bunch. Because of our great passion, we do not let limited resources get in the way of our commitment to preserve our collections and make them accessible to our community. Tonnes of innovative ideas on how to store different types of objects are developed in museums, libraries and archives all the time. Sadly, these amazing ideas are rarely shared with the rest of the world. In your collection storage area, there are ideas that could benefit others who may be facing similar challenges as you.

If you work with collections, at some point, you have found solutions that you or your colleagues are particularly proud of, no matter how simple and modest it may be. You have found new ways to optimize space, to re-use existing materials and to make sensible use of resources. This is your opportunity to share your ideas with colleagues around the world and to learn from theirs.

Send us one or two photos of your storage solution with a short descriptive sentence that tells us:

• The type of object
• The materials used or re-used to create your storage solution
• Why this system is better than before

There are several options for sharing your photos:

• On the RE-ORG International Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/reorgstorage
• On Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #reorgtips
• By email : reorgstorage (at) gmail (dot) com

You have until 31 March 2016 to send us your submission. The results will be posted on a Tumblr blog and hosted on the ICCROM website.

Important notice: By sending your images, you acknowledge that they are yours and that you have the permission to send them, but that you’re willing share them under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence.

Here are some examples:

“We adapted a shelving unit to store our collection of oars and spears. We are able to use up less shelf space than before. We’ve gained more room for other objects.”

“We re-used large wooden crates. We fixed secured chains on the crates to hang the masks. Now they are off the floor, so we will no longer risk stepping on them.”

“We created compartments in a box with cardboard folded in zigzags. Now we can take each pen easily. Also, they don’t rub against each other.”

This is a RE-ORG International initiative launched by ICCROM in collaboration with the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI).

This post is also available in Italian, translated by Marzia Loddo and in Russian translated by Helena Tomashevskaya.