The National Conservation Service

The National Conservation Service is a new consortium aimed at supporting archives, libraries, museums and businesses without conservation staff to care for their collections.  NCS is based at the Royal Institution of Gt Britain, administered by Conservation Ltd and operates in association with University of the Arts London.

NCS is a membership subscription service, providing an expert consultant to visit you regularly and help identify and resolve conservation needs.   Members can join and renew each year or take out a three year membership contract.  Support is offered at three levels – Band 1, Band 2 and Band 3 – with a range of subscription rates to choose from.  Standard membership rates for commercial businesses are discounted for not-for-profit public and charitable institutions.  Conservation treatments, by the consultant of your choice, can be provided as additional projects arising from the advisory support, or can be taken as an alternative membership service option.  In addition, standard Conservation Ltd rates for conservation treatment are discounted for all NCS members and can be carried out at studios in London, Wiltshire or Lincolnshire.

NCS brings together conservation consultants and a range of other service providers such as digisitation, storage and binding companies, selected to meet the highest standards of professional expertise.  Conservation consultants are PACR accredited conservators or from Conservation Registered practices, and other services are chosen for their ability to meet national and international standards, such as BS 5454 and ISO 11800.

NCS works in association with the Camberwell College, University of the Arts London, to identify opportunities for conservation projects to be carried out as master-classes, for senior students to assist custodians in preservation projects and to undertake research and development for complex conservation problems.