EDITOR’S NOTE
IN THE NEWS
PRESERVING HISTORY
Picture: Sussex University
System Store Solutions has helped one of Britain's greatest medieval sites,
Warwick Castle, to maximise its existing space and effectively preserve a
collection of historic artefacts.
MAPPING THE ROUTE TO BETTER STORAGE
System Store Solutions has helped the University of Sussex improve
accessibility and storage for its collection of maps
When the Geography Resource
Centre at the University of Sussex
was in need of refurbishment, it
called upon the expertise of System
Store Solutions to provide a new
storage system for its collection of
maps. Staff and students from the
entire university and members of
the public can now enjoy the
benefits of the new storage, which
has helped preserve the maps and
make them more accessible.
The Geography Resource Centre,
situated on the beautiful Sussex
System Store Solutions
has caught the eye of
trade press journalists
for its variety of storage
facilities and creative
ideas.
You can view the
products that got the
press excited by visiting
www.system-store.com
by David Price
campus, has been brought back to
life with the installation of new map
drawers. System Store Solutions
replaced the highly stacked, old,
warped and broken wooden
drawers with a new drawer system.
The installation has provided a
practical solution to a common
problem. Resource Centre
Manager, Evelyn Dodds enthused,
"prior to having the new drawers
The high quality drawers were
fitted, it was almost impossible to
custom built to fit the space. This
keep the room tidy, let alone find
new system ensures that the
anything. We couldn't be happier
collections of maps are safely
with the quality finish and storage
stored and less open to damage. To design provided".
A broad range of museum
storage options...
Adjustable shelving
Container shelving
Wide span shelving
Pallet racking
Picture frame vertical drawers
Mobile base systems
Cabinet drawer units
Drawer and shelf systems
Cupboard units
Visual drawer browser
Glass sliding door systems
Herbarium shelving systems
make the collection more
accessible and easy to locate, the
maps are now housed in designated
drawers at eye level.
...for all sorts of storage needs
Ancient artefacts arrow heads, flints, swords, tiles,
ceramics, coins, medals
Art treasures paintings, prints, sculptures, glass,
china, jewellery, silver
Geological materials rock and ore samples
Photographic materials cameras, equipment, glass
plates, slides, large films
Armoury rifles, pistols, ammunition, swords,
daggers, spears, lances, armour
Plus textiles, wallpaper, buttons, medical
equipment, human and animal specimens, tools,
manuscripts, shells, birds and much more
CONTACT US FOR A FREE STORAGE CONSULTATION
To arrange for one of our experts to visit your site, contact us at:
Museums Association
System Store Solutions Ltd
Ham Lane, Lenham, Maidstone, Kent ME17 2LH
Telephone: 01622 859522 Fax: 01622 858746
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.system-store.com
Corporate member
BY DAVID PRICE,
DIRECTOR, SYSTEM
STORE SOLUTIONS
Correct me if I am wrong, but the
UK has one of the richest, longest
and most diverse cultural histories
of any country. Yet much of our
history is hidden in basements,
inaccessible archives or split up in
different collections around the
country.
However, recent efforts from the
Government and industry are
clear signs that the situation is
improving. The re-opening of the
Kings Library for instance, makes
five thousand treasures available
to the public - only twenty of
which have been shown before.
The Arts Council England has
announced a £13.5m national
lottery arts grant towards the
£31m revamp of the Grand
Theatre, Leeds, home of Opera
North. Equally, the National
Heritage memorial fund made a
substantial award to the Bodleian
Library towards the purchase of
the Abinger papers. This united
the entire manuscript of Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein under one
roof.
However, the thing that excites
me most is not the money being
invested. It is the intelligence
being invested by curators and
collections managers in making
their collections accessible. Take,
for instance, storage work done at
the Whitworth Gallery in
Manchester that has made 42,000
items
accessible
without
appointment. This kind of project
should be the catalyst that inspires
the entire museum industry to put
more of our heritage on display.
A contract to provide storage
solutions for three rooms in
Warwick Castle was awarded to
System Store Solutions after the
castle's curator, Sandra Richards,
discovered the company at the
Museums & Heritage Show. "I
came across a copy of the Archive
and was struck by the difference
good storage made to a number of
high profile clients," explained
Richards. "System Store Solutions
impressive portfolio of clients and
experience in the museum and
heritage industry made them ideal
candidates for the job".
“I was struck by the
difference good storage made
to a number of high profile
clients,” Sandra Richards,
Warwick Castle
An assortment of variable suction
hovers, a range of brushes, various
types of tissue paper and a
number of bottles and jars
containing cleaning agents are now
kept in a seven-drawer cabinet.
This system has created a place
for everything, making the
The installation of FAMI FST cleaning process more effective
adjustable shelving system has because items are quickly located.
made a significant difference to all
three areas of the castle. Historic The Wolsey Room, a facility used
artefacts that range from moose to store items that are not on
horns to crockery, swords and public display, has also benefited
armour, are regularly cleaned in from new storage. The system
the conservation room. The provides better conservation of a
system of shelving provided by collection of rugs, picture frames
System Store Solutions has and other Victorian artefacts.
created a place for an array of Medieval picture frames are now
specialised cleaning equipment. both protected and accessible
thanks to the new racking system
supplied. Acid-free archive boxes,
which sit on the shelving system,
create an optimum environment
for the storage of Victorian
artefacts. The installation in the
Wolsey has successfully overcome
the problem of insufficient space.
System Store Solutions made best
use of the existing room by
supplying tube containers, which
are discreetly placed on top of the
new system, for the storage of rugs.
The shelving in the Archive Room
features suspension files with pull
out drawers, which are used to
store confidential files and a
collection
of
photographic
negatives. The archive boxes
provided create a structured and
organised storage solution for
paper documents.
System Store Solutions’ initial
consultations are free. To arrange
for a museums specialist to
visit you, contact David Price on
01622 859522.
Visit System Store Solutions online at www.system-store.com
SPACE DOESN’T HAVE TO
BE AN ALIEN CONCEPT
Pam Ranger looks at how the Ulster Museum
is now making effective use of its space
thanks to a new storage system.
System Store Solutions has
provided the institution with a new
facility in one of its collections
stores. The installation houses a
wide variety of objects from the
Archaeology, Ethnography and
History collections. The storage
system comprises both fixed and
mobile units, located in discrete
but adjacent areas. Fixed
cupboards with adjustable shelving
make optimum use of the internal
space.
drawer units have been positioned
to house smaller objects from the
same collections.
The Ulster Museum chose System
Store Solutions due to its
extensive experience in museum
and heritage storage and its ability
to work with the museum's own
plans and objectives. "We chose to
work with System Store Solutions
because it offered us a flexible
storage system and optimal use of
space," explained the Ulster
Museum's Head of Conservation,
Jim McGreevy. ''The high quality
finish was achieved within a tight
timescale and at a competitive
price".
Fitted along one sidewall, the fixed
units are used to store fragile and
ancient pottery. Banners and
various kinds of weaponry are
stored on the new mesh panels
positioned along the other
sidewalls. Mobile units run
parallel to the sidewalls and Contact David Price to discuss
include, in each area, one section storing widely varied items in a
of long shelving. In addition, two single location - 01622 859 522
NEW STORAGE SOLUTION HELPS
US STEP BACK IN TIME
Preserving history is a vital part of our future, a
message firmly endorsed by the people of
Nottingham who saved their local heritage from the
bulldozer by volunteering to freely run a local
museum.
Thanks to System Store Solutions and these local
heroes, visitors to the Ruddington Framework
Knitters Museum in Nottingham can now see a
collection of stockings produced over a hundred
years ago in the area's cottage industry.
Contact Anette
Price for advice on
how you can
effectively display
all your historical
artefacts on
01622 859 522
CHOOSING THE
RIGHT
CONSULTANCY
CAN SAVE YOU
TIME AND MONEY
FIVE TOP TIPS TO
REMEMBER WHEN
CHOOSING A STORAGE
COMPANY
- Service - Look for a company
that offers you project
management, consultation,
technical advice and no obligation
site surveys.
- Research - Take time to visit
museum trade shows and find out
what storage companies have to
offer. Some companies take
customers to see existing
installations. This will help you
decide exactly which system you
want.
- Reputation -Thoroughly
question the storage companies
you are talking to and make sure
they understand what your
organisation is all about. Look for
proven measures of success like
repeat orders from current
customers, past projects and
endorsements.
- Finance - Be open about your
budget and timescales
- Creativity - Front of house
storage is much more than
storage space. Look for a
company that has experience in
really marketing museum
collections. Ask for displays that
encourage public interaction.
The Museum's collections and displays, based in an
original cottage, illustrate the story of framework
knitting, from its inception to obsolescence, during
the nineteenth century. Ruddington wanted storage
that would maximise the quantity of stockings being
displayed and really bring to life examples of the
work of framework knitters. System Store Solutions
used standard glass drawer storage cabinets but also a
display case with fibre optic lighting to meet the brief
and ensure that the art of knitting is kept alive today.
See System Store Solutions at Museums Association Exhibition, The Museums & Heritage Show and MUREX
NO PROBLEM TOO BIG….
When the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall embarked on a project to find a
suitable storage solution to house its national collection, it called upon the expertise of
System Store Solutions.
Providing an adequate system
to safely hold over 200 pieces
of art that span from the 1700s
to the present day, when not
on public display, is no easy
task, particularly when space is
limited. The new picture
racking and shelving system
provided by System Store
Solutions, has allowed the
museums most important
collections to be effectively
preserved and carefully
stored.
The unusual shape and
limited space in the room
meant that the system had to
be custom made to fit the.
Moreover, because the room
is not made of brick, System
Store Solutions had to hang
the picture racking without
putting too much weight on
the walls.
The high quality shelving solution means that paintings are now stored above floor level. Within this system,
artwork is better protected, as it is stored upright and in frames. The shelving system is designed to hold a
maximum of three or four paintings in any one section.
RELOCATION, RELOCATION, RELOCATION
When the Museum of English Rural Life embarked on a £10.5m project to re-locate from its existing
premises at the University of Reading, to a new site nearer to Reading town centre, System Store Solutions
were invited to tender for the supply and installation of new storage and display furniture for the museum's
new home in Redlands Road.
David Price of System Store Solutions visited the Museum
of English Rural Life and invited curator Dr Roy Brigden
to go with him to the Museum of London so that he could
turn his plans into reality. " We had installed a similar
storage system at the London museum. The visit allowed
Dr Brigden to see the special glass fronted sliding door
units," explained Price.
As a result, the storage specialists were given the project,
worth in excess of £35,000, in September 2004. New
installations included a shelving and drawer system in the
costume and textiles area of the museum. Glass fronted
sliding doors were used to ensure total visibility of the
garments. A polycarbonate plastic material was used to construct the glass fronted system because its
properties provide superior UV resistance. This was a major selling point where textiles and costumes are
involved, as light can damage or fade high value garments. System Store Solutions was also responsible for
furnishing six other areas of the museum including, baskets, crafts, household and domestic, farming and
wall hanging areas.
Contact David Price on 01622 859 522 to discuss storage for light sensitive items.