Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network

CCI and CHIN have led and been a part of major heritage projects within Canada, many of which were of international significance. Here, we celebrate select highlights from the past 50 years.

Videos

• The Mobile Labs of the Canadian Conservation Institute (video)
• A trip Down Memory Lane: CHIN in 1989

Articles

• Canadian Conservation Institute at Work in the Field and in the Laboratory
• The Canadian Heritage Information Network in the Community: Reflections From Past Employees
• Collaboration as the Common Thread: An Interview With Conservator Jan Vuori
• Faith in Cyberspace: An Interview With Danielle Boily
• To Grow Professionally and to Give Back: An Interview With Conservation Scientist Marie-Claude Corbeil
• The Fossil Forest of Axel Heiberg Island
• History of the Canadian Conservation Institute Library
• Internship Stories from the Heritage Interiors Conservation Division
• The Mobile Labs of the Canadian Conservation Institute
• RE-ORG: Canada
• Reconciliation: A Professional Commitment and a Personal Reflection

The 1970s: the founding of CCI and the National Inventory Programme

• CCI was founded after UNESCO’s 1972 World Heritage Convention and the passing of the National Museums Act in Canada.
• Dr. Nathan Stolow was the founder and first director of CCI.
• The precursor to CHIN, the National Inventory Programme (NIP), was created in 1972 in response to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
• In 1975, CCI opened its headquarters at 1030 Innes Road in Ottawa, Ontario.
• In 1975, CCI published the first in its series of Technical Bulletins, publications to assist heritage professionals.
• In 1979, CCI piloted a mobile lab tour to provide conservation services to smaller heritage institutions across the country.

The 1980s: NIP becomes CHIN, and CCI runs the Mobile Laboratories Program

• In 1981, CCI published the first in its series of CCI Notes, which deal with topics of interest to those who care for cultural objects.
• NIP was renamed the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) in 1982.
• In 1986, CCI championed the fight to protect the site of the fossilized forest on Axel Heiberg Island.
• The Mobile Laboratories Program ran from 1980 to 1987.

The 1990s: the digitization of heritage

• CCI joined the newly created Department of Canadian Heritage in 1993.
• CCI produced the “Framework for Preserving Heritage Collections: Strategies for Avoiding or Reducing Damage” in 1994.
• CHIN established its Web presence with the creation of the first virtual exhibit in 1995.
• In 1998, the national inventories were redesigned for the Web, becoming Artefacts Canada, CHIN’s most popular resource.

The 2000s: community engagement

• CCI’s library catalogue became available online in 2000.
• In 2001, CHIN launched the Virtual Museum of Canada.
• In 2002, CCI and CHIN, in collaboration with international partner institutions, launched the Bibliographic Database of the Conservation Information Network as a free research database for conservation literature.
• CCI partnered with ICCROM and the Instituut Collectie Nederland to develop tools for risk assessment in 2003.
• CCI and Indigenous partners joined together to host a historic symposium in 2007.

The 2010s: a reorganization of heritage

• In 2014, CCI collaborated with the Museums Assistance Program to launch RE-ORG: Canada, a multi-year training program, using the RE-ORG method developed by ICCROM and UNESCO to reorganize storage in small museums.
• CHIN joined CCI at their headquarters in Ottawa on Innes Road in 2015.
• In 2018, CHIN launched an online version of Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging in collaboration with the American Association for State and Local History and Parks Canada.

The 2020s: looking ahead

• In 2020, CCI released Caring for Heritage Collections During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• In 2020, CHIN made Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging available as downloadable open data and has since customized the Nomenclature platform and website to allow for inclusion of many North American Indigenous languages.

For 50 years, museum and heritage professionals worldwide have looked to CCI and CHIN for their expertise. Now, CCI and CHIN are preserving and sharing their own stories, which have involved a myriad of remarkable and talented staff members over the years.

Brian Arthur: Director of CCI, 1976–1980

Brian Arthur was the second director of CCI. Originally from the United Kingdom, Arthur became a world-renowned expert in the conservation of pottery (or as he calls it, "sticking pots together").

Peter Homulos: founder of the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN)

Peter Homulos went from being a geology student to a director of the National Inventory Programme, the precursor to CHIN, all before the age of 30.

Lyn Elliot Sherwood: Director General of CHIN, 1993–2003

Lyn Elliott Sherwood, Director General of CHIN from 1993 to 2003, was responsible for the creation of the organization’s most well-known program, the Virtual Museum of Canada.

Judy Logan: adventures of an archaeological conservator

Judy Logan was an archaeological conservator at CCI from 1981 to 2006. She treated and preserved artifacts excavated by archaeologists to prepare them for display in museums.

Season Tse: conservation scientist

Season Tse started working at CCI as a conservation scientist in 1984. Her work as a conservation scientist evolved along with CCI over the years.

Charlie Costain: scientist and heritage advocate

Charlie Costain started working at CCI in 1984 as a conservation scientist, and then he moved through the ranks to become a manager and a director. He is often referred to as one of two CCI mascots, with the other being the infamous “Captain” situated above the doors of CCI’s headquarters.