Project Objectives
The primary goal of the Latin American Consortium project was the enhancement of preventive conservation in Latin America by increasing the access of educators to teaching resources, information, and expertise. The project had the following objectives to support this goal:

• creation of working groups to address specific topic areas or training needs;
• development of workshops for teachers;
• demonstration of new approaches, materials, and technologies for teaching;
• establishment of a network for the sharing of teaching expertise and resources for preventive conservation.

Project Summary
In recent years, preventive conservation—the management of the environmental conditions under which collections are housed and used—has made great strides in research and in application. Because preventive conservation considers the welfare of whole collections rather than the treatment of individual objects, it allows a more efficient use of limited resources for the benefit of a larger part of our material heritage.

Research at the GCI and elsewhere has contributed to a better understanding of the effects of environmental conditions on materials in museum and library collections and how—through appropriate actions—deleterious effects can be mitigated or even eliminated. Timely access to this information is critical, particularly for the people who are preparing the next generation of conservation professionals.

Institutions that provide training in conservation often face a double challenge: how to keep current on scientific and practical advances while, at the same time, making sure that these are integrated into curricula, training materials, and media. Teachers also need better access to colleagues who can provide a support system, along with advice and information on technical and educational matters.

Latin America boasts a number of institutions engaged in teaching preventive conservation, but the range of needs, as well as the potential audiences to be reached, are large, and can put a strain on both human and financial resources. The Latin American Consortium was formed to assist in meeting these needs and reaching these audiences.

The Consortium was initiated in October 1997 during a four-day meeting at the GCI attended by directors and staff of seven Latin American conservation training programs. Participants of the meeting discussed the feasibility of working collaboratively with the GCI to develop teaching capability in a number of different areas of preventive conservation. That meeting launched the Consortium. To support the work of the project, a Web site was developed and put into operation. For the next few years, the GCI provided overall management of the Consortium and its Web site.

Members of the Consortium now include educators from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Cuba. They are associated with formal university level courses for conservation professionals, as well as short occasional courses for museum personnel. Working as a network, the institutions of the consortium offer mutual support by exchanging information, ideas, and resources.

The early activities of the Consortium were generally carried out through working groups that addressed special topics or interests of the members. During the time that the GCI managed the Consortium, there were two active working groups: one focused on emergency planning (Component One) and another on the environmental issues of museum buildings and their collections (Component Two). Working with the GCI, each of these working groups organized workshops and meetings for their members.