Worksheet 7: Salvage Priorities Questionnaire
Disclaimer
The information in this document is based on the current understanding of the issues presented. It does not necessarily apply in all situations, nor do any represented activities ensure complete protection as described. Although reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date, the publisher, Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI), does not provide any guarantee with respect to this information, nor does it assume any liability for any loss, claim or demand arising directly or indirectly from any use of or reliance upon the information. CCI does not endorse or make any representations about any products, services or materials detailed in this document or on external websites referenced in this document; these products, services or materials are, therefore, used at your own risk.
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Alternative format
Download a fillable version of Worksheet 7: Salvage Priorities Questionnaire as a PDF (PDF, 202 KB).Introduction
The Emergency Response Planning Manual describes four steps that provide heritage institutions with a structured framework for identifying collections response strategies. This worksheet can be used to complete step 3 called “Identify salvage priorities,” which will help make the difficult job of triage during salvage somewhat easier and help ensure that the most valued objects are recovered. This worksheet can be used in conjunction with Worksheet 6: Collections Checklist and Worksheet 8: Salvage Priorities Inventory.
Instructions
Give a copy of this worksheet to the people in your institution who know your collections best. Have them work as a group to select the value criteria questions that will be used to assess relative value by answering “Yes” or “No” in the left-hand column.
Ask each person to use the worksheet as follows:
- Make a copy of the worksheet for each potential salvage priority object or small group of objects.
- Characterize the value of the objects by answering “Yes,” “No” or “Depends” for each value criteria question that is being used.
- Enter the scores that correspond to each answer: Yes = 2, Depends = 1 and No = 0.
- Add up the scores to get a priority score for the objects.
The second-to-last question asks whether the object is difficult to salvage. Use the completed Worksheet 6: Collections Checklist to answer this question. The subcategories listed in the right-hand column of this worksheet are objects that may be difficult to salvage in the event of a flood (they contain soluble materials, materials prone to delamination, distortion or corrosion), fire (they contain materials that are highly combustible or likely to melt, or from which soot removal is very difficult) or earthquake or severe winds (they contain brittle materials likely to crack, tear or shatter). Other objects will also be damaged but are more likely to be recoverable.
Instead of Worksheet 7, you may wish to use the “Questionnaire” tab in the Salvage Priorities Assessment Tool (Excel spreadsheet, 127.7 KB) to characterize objects for your salvage priorities list and automatically calculate the priority scores.
Before meeting as a group to decide on the final salvage priorities list, encourage people to make difficult choices by limiting the number of objects that each person will assess. If choosing is still too difficult, consider using a small subset of the value criteria questions to screen a large number of objects more quickly. Objects that pass the screening are then given the full assessment.
Worksheet example
The table below gives an example of what Worksheet 7 could look like when filled in with the answers for one object from the collection of a municipal archives. The value criteria questions were selected for the collection as a whole prior to completing the value assessment.
Once you have reviewed the example, download and complete the PDF of Worksheet 7.
Object(s): Municipal charter
Accession number(s) or fonds: 1965-09.01
Current location(s): Room AM-V, unit 10, drawer D (AM-V-10D)
| Use? | Value criteria question | Answer | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Is the object of historic importance? | Yes | 2 | Town charter |
| Yes | Is the object of artistic, aesthetic importance? | No | 0 | No notes |
| Yes | Is the object of scientific or research importance? | Depends | 1 | A key document for historical research on the town |
| Yes | Is the object of social, cultural or spiritual importance? | Yes | 2 | No notes |
| Yes | Is the provenance of the object well documented? | Yes | 2 | No notes |
| Yes | Is the context of the object well understood and documented? | Depends | 1 | Little related secondary documentation |
| Yes | Is the object rare or irreplaceable? | Yes | 2 | Only copy |
| Yes | Is the object of high monetary value? | No | 0 | No notes |
| Yes | Is the object in pristine or excellent condition for its type? | No | 0 | Some fading of the inks and yellowing of the paper support |
| Yes | Is the object highly relevant to the institution’s mission and purpose? | Yes | 2 | No notes |
| Yes | Is the object important to visitors and the community? | Yes | 2 | No notes |
| No | Is the object a vital record? | N/A | N/A | No notes |
| Yes | Is salvaging the object preferable to replacing it? | Yes | 2 | No notes |
| Yes | Is the object in a format or material that is difficult to salvage? | Depends | 1 | Some inks may bleed when wet? |
| No | Is the object on loan from another institution? | N/A | N/A | No notes |
| N/A | Priority score: | N/A | 17 | N/A |