What Are the Storage Solutions for Museums?

May is definitely the month dedicated to celebrating Museums, hosting both the renowned Museums at Night Weekend (11^th-14^th May) and International Museum Day (18^th May).

Museums at Night Weekend is a bi-annual non-profit event inviting all UK museums, galleries and heritage sites to showcase their treasures after hours. The event offers the public a chance to see the museum displays in new, unexpected ways, and gives museums and galleries the chance to support cultural awareness. Similarly, International Museum Day (IDM) brings together Museums to promote the importance of these establishments in the development of society and cultural exchange. Both occasions make May an exciting month to learn more about the museum and its valuable collections within.

However, what we see on display in museums makes up around 10% of all the items housed in them at one time. What we don’t see are the many items in storage that need to be preserved with utmost diligence and care.

Why museum storage is a problem

Museums are visited by the many to see the range of historical, highly precious and irreplaceable goods on display. As well as having a large monetary value, a lot of these items will have a deep cultural and emotional significance, which means that they need to be held and taken in and out of storage extremely carefully. Planning for museum storage requires intelligent, flexible solutions to effectively deal with the storage problems specific to its sector:

• The increasing number of items in a museum’s collection needing to be placed in storage
• The floor space needed to transfer items efficiently and easily
• Fragile or delicate items that need to be carefully moved in and out of storage
• Unusually shaped or bulky items that may be difficult to store, as well as very small items that need dedicated storage
• The environments needed to properly preserve items, such as cooler temperatures or dry conditions

Optimal museum storage solutions

We’ve been supplying intelligent museum storage solutions for over 25 years. We have a wide, varied range of storage options designed specifically for museum requirements such as picture and map hanging, rolled map and costume and textile storage as well as storage for any small, large or heavy specimens.

Used throughout the UK, our museum storage is innovative and secure, offering museums optimised space and protection:

• Our versatile static and mobile shelving systems allow for easy and quick access
• We have specially designed our High Density units so that museums can store more in less space
• Rackline storage protects valuable museum items from light, dust, dirt or contaminants
• We can offer storage solutions with additional digital security to keep precious items safe
• Museum storage facilities can choose from a range of unit styles, from drawing cabinets to mobile picture racking and Multitrak high density mobile shelving, to free up crucial floor space and store both small and large items
• All storage is presented with a clean, modern finish

If you’re looking for a tailored shelving and storage solution to optimise your museum storage facility, we’d love to help. You can see our Museum and Archive case studies here, or speak to a member of our team by calling 01782 770144.