Learning activities
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The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) share conservation knowledge on a range of conservation-related topics, such as collections care, preventive conservation and collections management, by offering learning activities to the heritage community.
The list below is regularly updated to reflect our current and upcoming activities.
In-person workshops
In-person workshops are hosted by various regional partners across Canada. Once hosts are selected for each of the workshops listed below, the location will be provided. The workshops offered in any given year may vary based on staff expertise and availability.
Find out more about hosting an in-person workshop.
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Care of Objects
- Description
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This workshop is designed as an introduction to the care of mixed collections for staff and volunteers. Topics covered include the structure and properties of various organic and inorganic materials, how and why these materials change and how to document and manage change.
- Facilitator
- Language
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English
- Date and time
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To be announced
- Location
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To be announced
- Registration
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To come
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Digital Photodocumentation of Museum Objects
- Description
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This workshop explains how to digitally photograph museum objects to meet conservation and documentation requirements. It includes information on how to choose proper photographic equipment, the various types of digital cameras and how they function, different light sources and how they influence colour, assorted lighting techniques and how to set up a digital workflow.
Full “Digital Photodocumentation of Museum Objects” workshop description
- Facilitators
- Language
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To be announced
- Date and time
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To be announced
- Location
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To be announced
- Registration
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To come
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Introduction to Preventive Conservation
- Description
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This workshop introduces participants to preventive conservation. It prepares participants to recognize how collections can be adversely affected by the ten agents of deterioration and advises how to protect against these agents in a thoughtful way that balances collection use with access.
Full “Introduction to Preventive Conservation” workshop description
- Facilitator
- Language
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English
- Date and time
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To be announced
- Location
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To be announced
- Registration
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To come
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Mount-making
- Description
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This workshop mixes theory and practice to offer a balanced foundation in mount-making. Facilitators will cover design criteria, materials selection, fabrication techniques and tools with an emphasis on ensuring the safety of your object. Participants will have the chance to produce between one and three mounts.
- Facilitators
- Language
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English and French
- Date and time
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To be announced
- Location
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To be announced
- Registration
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To come
Online learning activities
CCI and CHIN are currently offering the following online learning activities, which cover a variety of conservation-related topics, such as collections care, preventive conservation and collections management. The activities offered in any given year may vary based on staff expertise and availability. All activities listed below are offered at no cost.
We offer a number of options for online learning:
- Online workshops: Highly interactive sessions designed to help with a specific issue within a heritage institution. Participants are given the opportunity to share, collaborate and problem-solve with colleagues across the heritage community. Participants will also be expected to complete activities between sessions. Registration is limited to between 10 and 20 participants.
- Webinars: Interactive sessions designed to increase participants’ knowledge of a certain heritage-related topic. Registration is limited to between 25 and 40 participants.
- Webcasts: Informational presentations designed to introduce participants to a new tool, topic or method. Webcasts include an optional question and answer period. Registration is limited to 80 participants.
- Self-paced online courses: Courses (without a live facilitator) designed to be accessed at any time and completed at the participants’ own pace.
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Basic Handling and Care of Books
- Activity type
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Webinar
- Description
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This webinar series is an introduction to the care of books with a focus on handling books of significance to collections. Unlike many objects held in heritage collections, books are typically objects of use and are not meant merely to be displayed. As structural objects that are almost always designed to move, they are subject to stress and damage related to that use. Damage can occur due to the quality of the materials, the strength or weakness of the binding, the type of handling and the environmental conditions.
Upon completion of this series, participants will:
- understand basic care and handling procedures for bound books
- know how to practise safe handling and support of a book when it is in use
- identify the agents of deterioration that can impact a book’s longevity
- recognize how historic evidence is inherent in a book’s physical structure
- Facilitator
- Language
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French
- Dates and time
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March 19 and 26, 2025, from 1:30 pm (ET) to 3:30 pm (ET)
- Registration information
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Registration closed
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Introduction to Digital Preservation
- Activity type
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Webinar
- Description
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This webinar series is offered in four two-hour sessions and is designed to introduce participants, from small- and medium-sized heritage institutions, to digital preservation, including its core activities, tools and challenges. Particular focus is given to the life cycle management of digital preservation activities and the drafting of digital preservation policies, plans and procedures. Other topics covered include file formats, storage media, preservation metadata and open-source software solutions.
Upon completion of this series, participants will be able to:
- understand the key terms, common challenges and core activities of digital preservation
- access resources from leading authorities in digital preservation and leverage these resources to improve their institution’s digital preservation practices
- develop a digital preservation policy and plan, including an assessment of their institutional readiness for digital preservation and the identification of areas for improvement
- install and use some of the most common open-source software tools for digital preservation activities
- Facilitator
- Language
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English
- Dates and time
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March 18, 20, 25 and 27, 2025, from 1:00 pm (ET) to 3:00 pm (ET)
- Registration information
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Registration closed
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Museum Collections Documentation and Data Cleaning
- Activity type
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Self-paced online course
- Description
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This course covers a variety of topics related to collections documentation and data cleaning. It consists of seven modules:
- Introduction to the documentation of heritage collections
- Introduction to clean data for museums
- Establishing a documentation policy and plan
- Data entry: preventing errors in new data
- Data cleanup and reconciliation: identifying and fixing errors in existing data
- Data migration: migrating or merging data from another system
- How to solve documentation problems
The course provides essential museum documentation information for museum staff at all knowledge levels. It begins with an introductory overview and ends by exploring specific documentation issues. Learners have the flexibility to complete all modules sequentially or select individual modules that best suit their needs.
- Language
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English and French
- Access course
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The course “Museum Collections Documentation and Data Cleaning” is open to all and offered on a platform developed jointly with Athabasca University.
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Preservation Housekeeping for Heritage Sites and Small Museums
- Activity type
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Self-paced online course
- Description
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This course covers a variety of topics related to preservation housekeeping with an emphasis on small institutions and heritage sites. The course consists of six main sections:
- How to clean
- Ten agents of deterioration
- Keeping house
- Housekeeping plan
- Walkarounds
- Health and safety
The preservation of heritage sites and museums is an essential area of knowledge for all staff and volunteers working in heritage institutions. Therefore, this course aims to provide introductory knowledge and tools on this topic.
- Language
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English and French
- Access course
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The course “Preservation Housekeeping for Heritage Sites and Small Museums” is offered on a platform developed jointly with Athabasca University.
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CCI and CHIN Conference Day
- Activity type
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Webcast
- Description
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This online conference day provides an invaluable opportunity for students, recent graduates and educators to gain a better understanding of heritage conservation and collections documentation and to learn more about CCI and CHIN. Throughout the day, talks will address general and specialized topics aimed at first-year students.
- Language
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English (simultaneous French interpretation and captioning available)
- Date and time
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February 12, 2025, from 9 am (ET) to 4 pm (ET)
- Registration information
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Register for the CCI and CHIN Conference Day
Cancellations
Please note that CCI and CHIN reserve the right to cancel an online or in-person learning activity if the minimum enrolment requirement is not met.
To receive email updates about online and in-person learning activities, please subscribe to CCI’s eNews and CHIN’s eNews. You can also follow us on Facebook.
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