Authors: Tony King and Lauren Moon-Schott
When it comes to discussing treatment options with non-conservators, conservators often struggle with the question “How much information is too much information?” Too much detail elicits, at best, glazed-over eyes and, at worst, overwhelm and indecision. Too little results in uninformed treatment consent. Yet as conservators approach conservation increasingly as a field with community-driven outcomes, these conversations are essential to how we make decisions. What feedback can realistically be solicited from stakeholders with little to no knowledge of conservation practice, and how can their opinions inform the practical act of conservation?
Over the past several years, Durham University conservators have been tasked with treating a badly vandalised Shakespeare First Folio, a book that, due to its iconic status, has possibly one of the widest ranges of stakeholders invested in its wellbeing, use, and appreciation. From seasoned academic scholars to casual yet impassioned theatregoers, these stakeholders come to the conservation consultation impassioned, but not necessarily fully informed of what realistic outcomes look like, or the full implications of various treatment options’ implications. The demands of this project required conservators to find a way of presenting possibilities to stakeholders, then distilling an appropriate course of treatment from the stakeholders’ diversely opinionated responses. This presentation will detail the approach Durham conservators took to ensure a wide range of voices were heard in the decision-making process in the first place, and how those unique perspectives were allowed to feed into the project’s outcomes. |