A04_OCMU_CCS_SOW_.docx

Scope of Work For Collection Condition Survey for Collections at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park National Park Service

Confidentiality The information developed under this Contract is the property of the U. S. Government and shall be kept in strict confidence.

Introduction

This project consists of an on-site visit by a professional conservator or conservators to complete a Collection Condition Survey and preservation rehousing for museum collections associated with Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (OCMU). The project includes survey of objects in storage at the park’s primary curatorial storage room in the OCMU Visitor Center in Macon, Georgia. The collections to be surveyed are stored in museum cabinets or loose on pallets (for oversize materials). Material types include: ceramic, textile (animal hide and fabric), metal, and composite wood and metal. Objects requiring preservation rehousing include whole and mended ceramic vessels.

Information about National Park Service Collection Condition Surveys can be found in the NPS Museum Handbook, Volume I, Chapter 3: Preservation (https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/MHI.pdf)

The address for park headquarters is:

1207 Emery Hwy Macon, GA 31217

I. Background

OCMU has the largest museum collection in the entire National Park Service, nearly 3 million objects. The vast majority of the collection is comprised of archeological material, particularly objects excavated during monumental earth moving activities by the WPA and CCC during the Depression/New Deal era.

The park’s 1940s era Arte Moderne Visitor Center has experienced perennial condition issues, many of which have been exacerbated recently by the increase in severe weather. The basement of the building houses staff offices and about half of the park’s museum collection. The other half is stored at the Southeast Archeological Center and is not subject to this project. In recent years, the building envelope has been severely compromised, and the collections area has experienced several minor flooding events, increased pest activity, and general increase in relative humidity.

A cursory review of the collections stored in museum cabinets at OCMU in 2019 highlighted several objects that have ongoing conservation concerns (fraying textiles, copper and iron corrosion, etc), and several objects that are in sub-optimal storage conditions. Please see Appendix A for a list of objects with active conservation and preservation rehousing concerns.

II. Purpose and Responsibilities

A. The purpose of the work is to

1) conduct an on-site Collection Condition Survey (CCS) for all objects in storage cabinets and pallets at OCMU

2) produce a report that: identifies the conservation and preservation needs of individual objects

3) conduct preservation rehousing of 15-20 whole/mended ceramic vessels, and an ethnographic cougar pelt

The survey shall focus on material stability to determine object conservation treatment needs including determining and recording the condition of individual objects or groups of objects in the collection in need of professional conservation treatment. The survey report shall also include recommendations for preventive care and improvements to museum storage and exhibit conditions.

The results of the survey will provide guidance to park and regional curatorial staff in setting priorities for object stabilization and/or treatment, and preservation management of the park collections. The survey will also facilitate budgeting, scheduling, and subsequent communications with conservators regarding treatment. Object-specific data, using a compatible documentation or software format that identifies equivalent ICMS data fields from the survey will be entered into ICMS, the park's automated collections management system.

B. Post-award, the park will provide relevant, requested documents to provide specific context and information about the history of park collections.

C. Approved in advance by the superintendent, the COR or Park designee will provide on-site:

· supervised access to collection storage rooms, vaults, cabinets, shelves, and other locations of museum objects

· opening and closing of storage cabinets and vault or other containers that may be locked

· assistance with moving heavy or unwieldy objects

· access to museum property accountability (catalog and accession) and conservation (treatment and survey) records when required

· answers to questions about existing environmental monitoring and control, preventive care of objects, uses of objects, plans for future acquisition and disposition of objects, plans for future exhibition of objects, and the park's pest management program

· other information as needed

D. Contractor is responsible for:

· All travel to the site

· Any PPE they determine as necessary

· All supplies for conducting the survey and preservation rehousing

III. Conservator Tasks

The conservator will

A. Conduct an entrance interview with the NPS upon arrival at the park. The purpose of the interview is to explain to the staff the conservator's methodology and anticipated survey schedule and to detail any local support that may be needed. (This can be scheduled as a conference call or a remote/web meeting)

B. Conduct a hands-on survey of collections in cabinet/pallet storage by examining each object individually, or, as appropriate, by examining representative samples of large groups of similar objects. Priority shall be given to objects with known or suspected condition issues (see Appendix A). The following factors shall be considered in determining the object condition and conservation treatment needs of groups of similar objects in storage and on exhibit.

· The nature of the environment in which collections are stored or exhibited including building structure, temperature, relative humidity, dust, natural and artificial light sources, pests, air pollution, and other agents of deterioration, as well as the local climate conditions.

· Storage methods, mounts, and techniques including appropriateness, quality, and efficiency of use.

· Evidence of recent damage or deterioration, including failure of preservation treatments, damage to objects during their use for interpretation and study, effects of visitor handling or vandalism, and deterioration due to adverse environmental factors.

· When preventive maintenance treatment or simple treatments can be done by the park, park staff will be identified, the treatment will be briefly described, and materials will be recommended. All recommended materials shall be commonly used by conservators and selected for reversibility, stability, and ease of use. Materials shall be described generically, though brand names also may be given for reference purposes. Provide instructions for park staff to follow when carrying out work that the conservator recommends they perform. In most instances, instructions will be common practices.

· Any other general or specific issues concerning the collection's preservation, conservation, and/or treatment needs.

C. Provide a time estimate required for a professional conservator to carry out each recommended treatment. If possible, provide a cost estimate for the treatment if done by a conservator specializing in that discipline. The park can use this information to program funds to accomplish the work. When appropriate, note economies of cost or other benefits that might be realized by simultaneously treating similar objects, or objects with similar treatment needs.

D. The contractor is responsible for professional, editorial, and duplication services required to produce a site-specific Collection Condition Survey report. This document shall include the following sections:

· Executive Summary

· Project Background

· Project overview which features the following topics:

i. Facility and Storage Furniture

ii. Housekeeping

iii. IPM

iv. Environmental Conditions

v. Fire/Security

vi. Treatment Priorities

· Observations/Recommendations including completion times (Groups of Objects)

· Observations/Recommendations including completion times (Individual Objects) Contractor will also provide a supplementary document to include Overview/Methodology/Description of preservation rehousing of ceramic vessels. This plan will be evaluated by COR and park staff prior to preservation rehousing efforts.

E. Perform preservation rehousing of identified whole/mended ceramic vessels and ethnographic cougar pelt. Rehousing efforts will follow NPS and professional conservation best practices and will be approved by the COR prior to implementation.

F. Upon completion of the survey, the conservator will meet with the NPS to review the survey results. The close-out meeting can be conducted virtually or in person and should cover the findings and recommendations the conservator anticipates including in their report. At this time, the conservator will gather any data or information not already obtained that will be required for production of the survey report.

G. The conservator will prepare a written report of the completed survey using Microsoft Office software (Ex. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel).

IV. Contractor Qualifications

A conservator performing or supervising the conservation of works of art, objects, or architectural features should have as a minimum the qualifications as defined in the American Institute for Conservation’s (AIC) definition of Professional Associate and have achieved Professional Associate status with AIC or compatible status in a similar conservation organization:

· EDUCATION: an undergraduate university degree in conservation or historic preservation with an emphasis on conservation, or the international equivalent [or the equivalent in work experience under a qualified conservator, in addition to the training and experience noted below]:

· TRAINING: The applicant is required to have:

· two years of full-time formal education or related supervised training in conservation method and theory OR

· two years of full-time formal education or related supervised training in a field appropriate to other professional involvement in conservation (e.g., chemistry for conservation scientists, library science for library preservation administrators, art history for museum conservation administrators, business management for administrators).

· EXPERIENCE: The applicant is required to have three years of full-time work or its part-time equivalent in conservation or in a conservation related profession after training. Program training internships may not be counted toward this requirement.

· PROFFESSIONAL ETHICS: Applicants must demonstrate ability to adhere to the AIC Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice. Evidence may include: recent examination forms; proposed and completed treatment forms; reports of scientific investigations; lecture materials; planning documents; survey reports, etc. The conservator must comply with the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) in all work performed.

V. Deliverables and Payment Schedule

A. Provide an electronic file of the document to the park and project COR in Microsoft Word. The following must be included; a title page listing the park name, the conservator's name, project completion date and numbered table of contents.

B. The final CCS report must be on 8 1/2" x 11" neutral pH, high alpha cellulose, white paper such as Permalife Bond Paper or equivalent, single-sided and paginated, and printed using carbon-based, black laser printer ink. The following must be included; a title page listing the park name, the conservator's name, project completion date, and paginated table of contents. An electronic copy and two hard copies must be provided to the park. The electronic file (USB flash drive or other compatible format) must be labeled with the same title as the report plus the file name. The final report must be 508 Compliant.

C. Photographic documentation:

The conservator must provide the following:

· Digital files with full color images of each object in an uncompressed TIFF format and JPEGS with Dublin Core metadata provided for each image and transmitted via USB thumb drives and/or external hard drives. Contractor is responsible for acquiring appropriate thumb drives and/or external hard drives for transmission.

· The filename for the images will include the catalog number associated with the object. If there is more than one object per original number they will be labeled as “a, b, c” accordingly. This number will also appear in the image. This can either be on a card during image capture or added as a layer in Adobe Photoshop after the images are taken.

· A signed release form granting copyrights of all photographs to the park. (See NPS Museum Handbook, Part III, Figure 3.4, Assignment of Copyright by Contractor. https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHIII/mh3ch3.pdf). The Conservator may keep a copy of each image for private or educational use. Images kept by the Conservator may not be used in for-profit publications, for commercial distribution, or for exhibitions by the surveyor or any other individual or institution without written permission from the Superintendent or Museum Curator. The credit line shall include the following information: "Courtesy of the National Park Service," Park Name, Object Name, Object Date, Catalog Number.

A separate sheet of photographic captions will be prepared, and the electronic file will be included in the flash drive with the report. When applicable, the captions will link directly to an object's accession or catalog number.

PROJECT SCHEDULE

Kick-off Conference Call Within 30 calendar days of contract award

NPS Review of Consultant Responses Within 14 calendar days of completion

POINTS OF CONTACT:

Contracting Officer

TBD

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

OCMU Superintendent Carla Beasley 1207 Emery Highway Macon, GA 31217 Carla_beasley@nps.gov

OCMU Integrated Resources Manager/Archeologist Gregory Luna Golya 1207 Emery Highway Macon, GA 31217 gregory_lunagolya@nps.gov

Contracting Officer Representative:

Elanor Sonderman 1924 Building 100 Alabama St. S.W.

Atlanta, GA 30303 elanor_sonderman@nps.gov 470-990-0055 (cell)

VI. Protection of Information

All information and documentation gathered or produced by the Contractor during the course of this work shall be held in strictest confidence and shall be fully protected from access by unauthorized persons. Any documentation furnished by the site and retained by the Contractor during the course of the work or thereafter shall be secured in a locked filing cabinet or safe at a minimum. During the initial visit to the site, the Contractor shall indicate to the park curatorial staff the manner in which he/she intends to secure any documentation the site may furnish; the park curatorial staff will have the prerogative to specify when more stringent security must be provided for any particular documentation furnished to the Contractor. Documentation that cannot be secured to the park curatorial staff’s satisfaction still will be furnished to the Contractor, but only for on-site use.

Notes and other information produced by the Contractor, including all versions and copies of his/her report and any drawings that may be produced, shall be secured in a locked filing cabinet or safe, at a minimum. Word processor and other computer files shall be secured in an equivalent manner, such as by retaining files only on CDs or flash drives kept in a safe, rather than on a hard drive, and by the use of passwords or encryption. During the initial visit to the site, the Contractor shall indicate to the park curatorial staff the manner in which he/she intends to secure computer data generated during the course of the work; the park curatorial staff will have the prerogative of specifying that additional security measures be taken whenever circumstances so dictate.

All documents and other work developed in the performance of this contract, shall be and remain the sole property of the Government and may be used on any other work without additional compensation to the Contractor, with respect, thereto, the Contractor agrees not to assert any rights and not to establish any claim under the patent or copyright laws. The Contractor, for a period of 3 years after final payment under this contract, agrees to furnish and provide access to all retained materials on the request of the Contracting Officer. Unless otherwise provided in this contract, the Contractor shall have the right to retain copies of all such materials beyond such period.

RIGHTS IN DATA - SPECIAL WORKS

(FAR 52.227-17) (DEC 2007)

A. Definitions. As used in this clause— “Data” means recorded information, regardless of form or the media on which it may be recorded. The term includes technical data and computer software. The term does not include information incidental to contract administration, such as financial, administrative, cost or pricing, or management information.

“Unlimited rights” means the rights of the Government to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, in any manner and for any purpose, and to have or permit others to do so.

B. Allocation of Rights.

(1) The Government shall have—

(i) Unlimited rights in all data delivered under this contract, and in all data first produced in the performance of this contract, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this clause.

(ii) The right to limit assertion of copyright in data first produced in the performance of this contract, and to obtain assignment of copyright in that data, in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this clause.

(iii) The right to limit the release and use of certain data in accordance with paragraph (d) of this clause.

(2) The Contractor shall have, to the extent permission is granted in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this clause, the right to assert claim to copyright subsisting in data first produced in the performance of this contract.

C. Copyright.

(1) Data first produced in the performance of this contract.

(i) The Contractor shall not assert or authorize others to assert any claim to copyright subsisting in any data first produced in the performance of this contract without prior written permission of the Contracting Officer. When copyright is asserted, the Contractor shall affix the appropriate copyright notice of 17 U.S.C. 401 or 402 and acknowledgment of Government sponsorship (including contract number) to the data when delivered to the Government, as well as when the data are published or deposited for registration as a published work in the U.S. Copyright Office. The Contractor grants to the Government, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license for all delivered data to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government.

(ii) If the Government desires to obtain copyright in data first produced in the performance of this contract and permission has not been granted as set forth in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this clause, the Contracting Officer shall direct the Contractor to assign (with or without registration), or obtain the assignment of, the copyright to the Government or its designated assignee.

(2) Data not first produced in the performance of this contract. The Contractor shall not, without prior written permission of the Contracting Officer, incorporate in data delivered under this contract any data not first produced in the performance of this contract and that contain the copyright notice of 17 U.S.C. 401 or 402, unless the Contractor identifies such data and grants to the Government, or acquires on its behalf, a license of the same scope as set forth in paragraph (c)(1) of this clause.

D. Release and use restrictions.

Except as otherwise specifically provided for in this contract, the Contractor shall not use, release, reproduce, distribute, or publish any data first produced in the performance of this contract, nor authorize others to do so, without written permission of the Contracting Officer.

E. Indemnity.

The Contractor shall indemnify the Government and its officers, agents, and employees acting for the Government against any liability, including costs and expenses, incurred as the result of the violation of trade secrets, copyrights, or right of privacy or publicity, arising out of the creation, delivery, publication, or use of any data furnished under this contract; or any libelous or other unlawful matter contained in such data.

The provisions of this paragraph do not apply unless the Government provides notice to the Contractor as soon as practicable of any claim or suit, affords the Contractor an opportunity under applicable laws, rules, or regulations to participate in the defense of the claim or suit, and obtains the Contractor’s consent to the settlement of any claim or suit other than as required by final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction; and these provisions do not apply to material furnished to the Contractor by the Government and incorporated in data to which this clause applies.

In the event that the Government uses any of the above mentioned materials for purposes other than those covered under this contract or other than for which it was provided, the Contractor shall not be held liable for any personal or property damage arising from such use.

Appendix A

The following are museum objects with known or suspected condition issues. These items are prioritized for review by a professional conservator.

OCMU-00007 – Man’s Beaded Costume, 5 pieces (2 vests, 2 leg covers, 1 triangular piece). Fraying, missing fabric at trim

OCMU-00034 – Railroad track segment, 1 piece. Heavy iron corrosion, crack in object

OCMU-00036 – CCC Mapping Equipment, 5 pieces (1 tripod, 2 monopods, 1 stadia rod, 1 transit kit in case). Tripod has rusted feet and many marks and scratches on wooden tripod legs. Stadia rod scuffed and marked. The transit is in good condition; however, small tools in case show copper corrosion. Wooden transit box/case and strap are in fair to good condition.

Aerial Photo Stereo Pair Viewer in case. Viewer fair condition. Case in poor condition with broken handle.

OCMU-00039 – Chief Claude Cox Cougar pelt donation, 1piece. Unknown previous treatment, has a distinct sugary/maple syrup odor.

OCMU-00145 – CCC equipment.

Grinder, 1. Wood components scratched, Iron components rusted. Rod broken Scythes, 3. Blades broken from two. Third has significant iron corrosion on blade Misc. tools, about 18 pieces. Wood, metal and leather in various levels of deterioration

Multiple accessions – Ceramic vessels, 18 to be rehoused. Vessels lack proper mounts, not secured in cabinet image3.jpeg image4.jpeg image5.jpeg image6.jpeg image7.jpeg image8.jpeg image9.jpeg image10.jpeg image11.jpeg image12.jpeg image13.jpeg image14.jpeg image1.jpeg image2.jpeg