Welcome to CoOL
Resources for Conservation Professionals
Conservation OnLine (CoOL) is a freely accessible platform to generate and disseminate vital resources for those working to preserve cultural heritage worldwide. Through the support of the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation, CoOL is committed to growing and sustaining these resources into the future. As an authoritative and trusted source of information, CoOL serves to foster, convene, and promote collaboration.
Use the navigation at left to:
- Search within CoOL
- Access the Conservation DistList archives and mailing list
- Peruse the publications archived on CoOL (including JAIC, the Paper Conservation Catalog, and postprints from AIC's BPG, EMG, PMG, and WAG specialty groups).
- Access the many sites and organization that are hosted or mirrored on CoOL.
Use the CoOL Directory: Find People in and around Conservation.
Content on CoOL
The content of CoOL comes from a variety of sources, and we hope that all users will consider contributing some material to the project. As you use the server, please pay attention to lacunae that you might be able to help fill. If this is your first time here, please read an important message about copyright. If you would like to contribute material to CoOL, please send a note to wh. To report problems or offer suggestions, select the links at the bottom of each page.
Support CoOL
When FAIC took on management of Conservation OnLine (CoOL) and the Conservation DistList eight years ago, we knew that these resources were crucial to the preservation community and had to be saved. We didn’t know exactly how we would pay for the ongoing costs of curation and maintenance, let alone the necessary updates and improvements, but we knew we had to step up to the task.
Thanks to generous donations from people like you who use these resources, CoOL and the ConsDistList are still here for you to ask questions, find your next job, or see what courses are coming up. You can find information on almost any preservation or conservation topic, from “what is an ‘aa’ pattern?” to “who conserved the Hie Sanno Sairei-Zu Japanese screens?”
But even we didn’t realize what treasures CoOL and the ConsDistList really are. Earlier this year, we asked Matt Morgan, the FAIC Digital Strategy Advocate, to conduct an audit of FAIC and AIC’s online resources. Matt was as surprised as we were by what he found:
FAIC and AIC’s email lists and websites continue to stimulate broad support and generate deep member engagement. The lists are popular, useful, and active, and the combined websites serve members with a usage rate that's 10-60 times what's exhibited at many similar professional associations--including organizations both inside and outside the field of conservation.
Let me restate that: on a per-member basis, (F)AIC’s online properties are orders of magnitude better used than those of other professional associations. CoOL, the mailing lists, and the other websites may sometimes be frayed around the edges, but they are popular and very well-used.
Please help make sure the resources that you value remain accessible. In order to keep CoOL and ConsDistList up and running, FAIC needs to raise $40,000 by the end of the year. Last year the average gift size was $50. If only 8% of the nearly 10,000 ConsDistList subscribers gave that amount, we would meet our goal. We hope you’ll show your support by making a contribution today. You can donate with a credit card or mail a check to:
FAIC
727 15th Street, NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Thank you for your participation in this community and your generous support!
A sample of areas covered on this site...
Conservation of Cultural Property: Art conservation, Paintings conservation, Paper conservation, Photographic materials conservation, Book conservation, Sculpture conservation, Objects conservation, Artifact conservation, Wood conservation, Textile conservation
Materials: Archaeological materials, Architectural materials, Archives materials, Artifacts, Artists' materials, Electronic media, Electronic records, Historic materials, Library materials, Manuscripts, Modern materials, Museum materials, Natural history collections
Subjects: Biodeterioration, Collections care, Conservation education & training, Conservation science, Conservation suppliers, Conservation treatment, Conservators, Copyright, Degradation of materials, Digital imaging, Disaster planning, Documentation, Ethics, Health & Safety, Intellectual Property, Library Binding, Mass deacidification, Mold, Pest management, Preservation-related organizations, Reprographics, Restoration, Terminology
