3.2. Security

3.2.1. Facilities

Serious attention should be paid to ensure that the facilities needed for the proper management of a museum are provided. The existing national civil laws concerning electrical wiring, fire and other alarm systems, climate and humidity control must be observed.

Concerning the safety of individuals, architectural barriers should be avoided; all emergency exits along the route should be clearly marked; all facilities and structures should be periodically checked.

Care should be taken to guarantee the safety of artworks, the conservation of the cultural goods as such, as well as their protection from illicit acts such as theft. (Precise international guidelines have been issued regarding the exhibition of artworks in order to facilitate their conservation and maintenance. In this regard, one can recall some documents issued by the following international organizations:  ICOM, Code de Déontologie Professionnelle de l'ICOM, Paris 1990; ICOM, Documentation Committee CIDOC Working Standard for Museum Objects, 1995; Council of Europe, Revised Convention on the Protection of Archeological Heritage, Malta 1992; ICOMOS [International Council of Monuments and Sites], International Cultural Tourism Charter, 1998, articles 2.4, 6.1, 3.1, 5.4. To these documents can be added the guidelines issued on the occasion of international meetings on diocesan and ecclesiastical Museums, as for example, the Rom Dokument approved at the 44th Annual Assembly of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kirchlicher Museen und Schatzkammern, Rome, May 31, 1995). The preservation of artefacts requires correct control of the climate of the environment; protection from dust, solar exposure, bacteria; assured regular hygiene and disinfecting maintenance of the premises; periodic diagnostic investigation.

As regards the protection of works, one should apply preventive, security measures to all museum areas with particular care to assure a robust outer wall and the protection of all openings (bolted doors, screens at the windows or cellar openings, etc.). A good alarm system, possibly connected to the nearby police station, is advisable. A good up-to-date photographic record of every cultural asset in order to facilitate investigation in case of theft is essential.