Association of Friends of Scientific and Technical Collections

Why did the need for such an organization arise?

Because these collections are so numerous and diverse, and because the need to preserve and promote them has not always been a priority for the university or research institutions.

Their institutional recognition is relatively recent, and a formal collections department (now SPH), for example, was not established (at what was then UM2) until 2004, and even then with limited staff resources.

The staff members who had become aware of the issue then came together to form the association. The question of their status (prior to the association’s creation) had been raised on several occasions with the legal department of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, which refused to consider the use of “volunteers” within an institutional framework; consequently, the association was established in September 2004.

In what capacity do the members of the Association participate?

As experts:

Their expertise—that ofProfessors, researchers, advanced students, doctoral candidates, practitioners, and technical staff who have had some connection to these collections, as well as knowledgeable enthusiasts—can be put to use at various levels: at the level of the objects themselves, their conservation, and their use for and through research (making them available to researchers or participating in research projects, scientific publications, etc.), as well as their use through the selection and presentation of objects to help promote scientific culture (exhibitions, science workshops, conferences, etc.).

The AACST is a partner of the University and is not subordinate to any of its departments:

Its scope of operations was clearly defined at the time of its creation, both by its founders and by the University (with input from the relevant government ministry) and its Collections Department at that time.

However, of course, any work on the University’s collections (or, by delegation, under the responsibility of the Historical Heritage Service or a research laboratory) may only be carried out with the approval of the SPH or the research laboratory.