Mr. Krsticevic inquires about the lack of conservation services for fragile items at the State Records Office and requests funding details. The answer outlines measures taken to mitigate damage and future plans, while providing specific figures for conservation spending.

AnsweredQoN 3440Legislative Assembly
Asked
28 June 2018
Portfolio
Culture and the Arts

QuestionView source ↗

(1) I refer to the 2016–17 Annual Report of the State Records Commission, which states on page 19 that currently no conservation services are available to the State Records Office to support the ongoing protection of fragile items, and ask: (a) Are you aware of this issue and if so, what actions are being taken to address it; and (b) How much funding has been allocated in the following years to support this function: (i) 2018/19; (ii) 2019/20; (iii) 2020/21; and (iv) 2021/22? (2) How much funding has been provided for each of the past five years in respect of conservation services?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
14 August 2018
Responded by
Minister for Culture and the Arts
Response time
1 days
(1)(a) State archives are stored in monitored, environmentally controlled conditions to minimise damage and deterioration. No physical treatments or repairs are currently being undertaken.
The State Library of Western Australia commissioned independent advice on future conservation requirements for both print and digital collections; the State Records Office was included in the scope of the report. Recommendations from that report are now being used to inform further work on the team structure and roles to best meet the requirements of the State Library and the State Records Office future conservation and digitisation needs.
(1)(b)(i) $2,200 on conservation supplies.
(ii-iv) No budgets have been made at this time.
(2) In the past five years, the State Records Office has spent the following on conservation supplies and services:
2013/14 - $2 000 on conservation supplies;
2014/15 - $1 941 on conservation supplies;
2015/16 - $861 on conservation supplies;
2016/17 - $540 on conservation supplies, $7 654 on services;
2017/18 - $27 736 on conservation supplies for re-boxing State Archives; $17 487 on a contractor to re-box archives; $39 600 on a conservator to undertake a Preservation Needs Assessment of the State Archives Collection.

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