AIC's 47th Annual Meeting

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a critical component of collection care. At the Yale Center for British Art a small team manages our recently re-invented, museum-wide IPM program to protect collections from insect infestations and rodents. Monitoring all corners of the museum takes a significant amount of time and energy so it has been essential to increase incentives for all departments to participate in the IPM program. Three creative campaigns that highlight IPM policies and encourage staff to interact with the IPM program have increased buy-in from general staff and in so doing, increased the efficiency of monitoring and prevention throughout the museum. Firstly, providing staff with “bug jars” – a receptacle to capture any insect that staff may come across during their time at work – has increased the numbers of insects being passively caught around the museum. These containers are personalized with novel insect stickers that act as a reminder of the jar’s function and normalize the idea of insects in the museum and the jar’s transparent nature also facilitates live capture, allowing for easier identification. Since the introduction of bug jars the uptick in passive monitoring has identified key areas where both monitoring and cleaning needed to be increased. Secondly, an intranet page provides interesting facts, updates on our IPM findings, and monthly staff recognition for IPM contributions. Acknowledging staff for their efforts and awarding the title of “Bug King” or “Bug Queen” of the month has increased positive discussion about IPM and created friendly competition amongst staff. Recognizing people and showing gratitude is important to maintain positive relationships between IPM staff and other departments, especially custodial staff, who have shouldered an increase in work since the introduction of this IPM program. Thirdly, “Bug Bingo” has been introduced as a game to all departments. The goal is to report five of the listed environmental or common museum pest incidences. This game is used in training workshops for security and custodial departments and it encourages staff to recognize their capacity to participate in the IPM program without it becoming another burdensome task added to their already long list of responsibilities. This presentation highlights the importance of increasing awareness and engagement from other departments through novel and inclusive activities, positive reinforcement, and staff recognition, to foster a sense of community and shared mission to preserve and protect our museum’s collections.