Government Pavilion, C/ Padre Herrera s/n
Post Office Box 456
38200, San Cristobal de La Laguna
Santa Cruz de Tenerife - Spain
Switchboard Tel.: (+34) 922 31 90 00
Hours: Mon, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Preventive Conservation of Documentary Heritage
Preventive Conservation of Documentary Heritage
Overview
This microcredential equips archive and library staff to identify risks and design basic preventive conservation and emergency management plans for documentary heritage. Students will learn to recognize agents of deterioration, assess the condition of collections, establish handling and environmental control protocols, and develop practical strategies for the conservation and protection of documents in their workplace.
To develop in archive and library staff, or people in charge of or interested in documentary heritage, the ability to identify risks to documentary heritage and to design and initiate the implementation of a basic preventive conservation and emergency plan applicable in their workplace.
Specific objectives:
1. Define the concept of preventive conservation in the archival context and distinguish it from restoration, placing it in the document life cycle.
2. Recognize the main agents of deterioration (environmental, biological, physical, chemical, human and catastrophic) and assess their impact on different documentary supports (paper, parchment, plans, photographs).
3. Carry out an initial risk assessment based on observation of the space and the collection, preparing plans and basic records of the archive or library itself.
4. Identify common supports, inks and materials used in archival documentation, describe their vulnerabilities and propose appropriate preventive measures.
5. Design handling, consultation, transport and access protocols for staff and users, aimed at minimizing deterioration from use.
6. Establish criteria for the selection of conservation materials (boxes, covers, barrier papers, etc.), differentiating between suitable and unsuitable materials, and formulate a basic policy on materials and progressive replacement.
7. Define recommended environmental parameters (temperature, relative humidity, light,
contaminants) and establish simple control and recording routines in storage areas and rooms.
8. Structure a basic emergency prevention and response plan, identifying priority risks, preventive measures, action protocols and staff training needs.
9. Develop three products applied to the center itself: a diagnosis of space and supports, a handling/consultation protocol and a plan for the replacement of materials, integrated into a proposal for a conservation control round.
- To access the microcredential, the following requirements must be met:
- Be between 25 and 64 years of age on the date the training begins.
- Applicants must hold an official Spanish university degree, or another degree issued by a higher education institution belonging to a Member State of the European Higher Education Area that qualifies the holder for admission to master's level studies, preferably in the field of Arts and Humanities. However, other qualifications will be considered provided that experience in work related to documentary heritage is demonstrated.
- Holding a degree issued by an educational system outside the European Higher Education Area without official recognition or a declaration of equivalence. In these cases, the academic director will submit a report to the Academic Committee, which will authorize or deny admission. Under no circumstances will authorization imply official recognition of the foreign degree, nor its recognition for any purpose other than pursuing postgraduate studies at the ULL.
Academic program
1. Fundamentals of preventive conservation
Concept and scope in archives: document lifecycle, differences with restoration. Types of archives and institutional contexts.
2. Agents of deterioration and vulnerabilities
Environmental, biological, physical, chemical, and human agents and disasters. Documentary supports (paper, parchment, plans, photographs) and specific risks.
3. Environmental conditions and spatial organization
Temperature/humidity parameters, light, and contaminants. Criteria for the organization of storage facilities, installation, and good handling, transport, and access practices.
4. Prevention and emergency plans
Identification of priority risks, preventive measures, action protocols and staff training.
5. Conservation materials
Types (boxes, sleeves, barrier papers), selection criteria, unsuitable materials and normative references (ISO, PAT).
The training activities to be carried out during the delivery of the micro-credential will be:
● Theoretical classes: expository, explanatory or demonstration sessions of the contents and knowledge.
● Practical classes: sessions of practical application of the content developed in the theoretical classes, through the resolution of exercises, problems or theoretical-practical scenarios.
● Work: preparation of a study, essay, work… proposed in the subject, either individually or in a group following established guidelines.
● Independent work: independent and self-regulated activity of the student based on the documentation and guidelines proposed in the subject, preparation of classes and exams, preparation of final reports, internship reports…
Regarding the way to organize the teaching to achieve the objectives set out in the micro-credential, the organizational modality summarized below will be followed:
● Lectures/expository method: presentation or explanation by the teaching staff.
●Practical classes: activities supervised by the teaching staff in the classroom, laboratories, clinics.
●Individual work: individual preparation of assignments/projects/reports, portfolio, …
● Exhibitions, debates and presentation of works and projects: activities supervised by the teaching staff.
● Active methodologies: cooperative learning, project-based learning, flipped classroom, service learning, game-based learning, case studies, problem-solving…
They are aimed at making learning a participatory process and are based on the leading role of the students.
The microcredential will have an evaluation system (ES) based on the following assessment tests:
●Case, exercise and problem solving: tests in which students must solve, in a reasoned manner, within a certain time, and according to the established criteria, the cases, exercises or problems posed by the teaching staff, with the aim of applying the knowledge acquired.
● Attendance, participation or attitude in teaching activities, seminars, tutorials, etc.: monitoring student attendance and participation in teaching activities, carrying out activities during teaching sessions.
● Works, memoirs, internship memoirs, reports and written projects: document prepared on a topic or activity carried out, following the instructions established by the teaching staff.
● Portfolio, journals, notebooks, or practice materials, etc.: a collection of student work that demonstrates their progress and achievements. This includes the compilation of evidence of self-reflection.
● Report of the tutors of the External Internships: document in which the assessment of the internship tutors on the performance and aptitude of the students during the development of the internships is collected.
General information
Credits: 3 ECTS
Duration: 27/04/26 – 27/05/26
Teaching modality: Blended learning
Location: Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country of Tenerife, C. San Agustín, 23, 38201 La Laguna
Valued at: €217.50
The cost of tuition for this Microcredential will be subsidized by the 'Plan for the development of university microcredentials', investment 6 of component 21 of the Addendum to the 'Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan', financed by the European Union – Next Generation EU, year 2025.
Short courses available in various formats (in-person, online, or hybrid). Ideal for learning without interrupting your professional life.
Content created and delivered by professionals and experts in the field, designed for immediate application.
Endorsed by the University of La Laguna. You will receive an official ECTS certificate, valid in the European Higher Education Area.
Teaching staff
