Evolution of security systems in museums.

Museums are institutions dedicated to preserving, conserving and exposing to the public the cultural heritage of a place. These buildings contain an important part of the history of humanity and the works of art they contain are of incalculable value.

This is why it is of great importance to have adequate security systems that guarantee the preservation of this heritage. In museums can be understood as the set of measures taken in order to protect both the works of art and the documentation contained in the collections as well as visitors and staff.

Security systems:

Security systems in museums have been evolving as technology has developed. Thus, comprehensive protection of cultural heritage has been achieved while the public can enjoy contemplating the works exhibited in the venues.

Initially, when the first public museums were created, such as the Louvre in Paris in 1793, security was very simple. Basically, there were security guards who monitored the works on display and later the museum door was closed with a key.

Louvre in 1911:

This allowed theft of important works of art such as the Mona Lisa, which was removed from the Louvre in 1911. To achieve this, the thief posed as a carpenter who was carrying out repairs at the museum and gained access to the painting, which he took down from the frame. and hid under his shirt.

As museum management has grown, more and more importance has been given to security systems. Already in 1974, the International Committee on Museum Safety (ICMS) was created, which is responsible for providing guidelines in terms of safety as well as fire protection and disaster prevention.

Museums have been improving their security systems and are currently required to have a comprehensive plan. In this way, an attempt is made to control the behavior of visitors towards the works, the environment in which they are preserved, as well as to protect particularly the most valuable pieces.

Development of Technology:

The development of technology in security systems has made it possible to improve the protection of cultural heritage preserved in museums. Thus, there is extensive control of staff entry and exit with different mechanisms such as personalized magnetic cards or biometrics.

Visitors in many cases must present their credentials and register to access the different collections. Likewise, security personnel play an important role by monitoring the movement of the public in the room and thus prevent them from approaching the works and causing damage accidentally or intentionally.

These changes over time have led to the creation of different security measures to protect heritage from theft, fires and other disasters. They must be configured at different levels in a comprehensive plan, including:

Physical protection

It refers to the security mechanisms that are placed both on the perimeter and internal and external access to the different areas of the museum. First of all, it is important to design a security perimeter around the facilities with different systems such as fences, walls, closed circuit television (CCTV) systems and 24-hour surveillance personnel.

CCTV

is used to monitor the museum’s surroundings with WiFi security cameras and detect the incursion of any person during unauthorized hours. Furthermore, they have been evolving and for internal surveillance, in many cases, an alarm is activated if any of the exhibited works change location.

Inside, restricted access areas must be configured associated with places where the works are stored or restored. Only authorized personnel can enter these areas using magnetic card or biometric systems.

Likewise, care must be taken that emergency exits do not facilitate the escape of thieves in the event of a robbery.

In addition, it is very important to have strict control of the entry of staff and visitors to the museum facilities. For this reason, metal or infrared detectors have been installed in many of them in order to prevent the entry of weapons or other potentially dangerous objects.

Protection of works

Security systems in museums have been changing to increasingly achieve comprehensive protection for the most valuable pieces. This not only against the occurrence of theft or vandalism, but also against the treatment they may receive from the public.

In some cases, protective structures or screens have been placed on paintings, although they have the limitation of producing reflections that do not allow details to be appreciated. However, with the development of technology, very effective and less intrusive systems have been achieved.

Among these, electronic tags that can be attached to the pieces and are capable of detecting if people approach them. This is combined with other systems when the museum is closed such as infrared sensors that can detect movement in the exhibition areas.

Fire protection

One of the great risks that museums suffer is the occurrence of fires that can destroy collections in a very short time. The last of these was the one that occurred in 2018 at the National Museum of Brazil.

When designing the museum security system, prevention as well as efficient alarm systems must be ensured. It is of great importance that these alarm systems connect with the fire stations, in order to achieve a quick response to any contingency.

Likewise, there must be fire extinguishers in all rooms, sprinklers and gas systems in those places where water can cause damage to the works. Likewise, security personnel must be adequately trained to respond to a fire emergency.

The key in the evolution of security systems in museums has been understanding that there must be a comprehensive plan that focuses on all areas. Likewise, it is important not to depend on a single system, but rather that they all complement each other and thus guarantee the protection of the cultural heritage of humanity.