Code of Ethics
AIC Code of Ethics
Many of our TX-CERA volunteers and Texas Heritage Responders are members of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), which is the leading membership association for current and aspiring conservators and allied professionals who preserve cultural heritage. The AIC Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice sets forth the principles that guide conservation professionals and others who are involved in the care of cultural property. Below is a general summary of the level of professionalism we choose to uphold. Please visit the AIC website to review the full document.
Purpose
The primary goal of conservation professionals, individuals with extensive training and special expertise, is the preservation of cultural property. Cultural property consists of individual objects, structures, or aggregate collections. It is material which has significance that may be artistic, historical, scientific, religious, or social, and it is an invaluable and irreplaceable legacy that must be preserved for future generations.
Guidelines for Practice
As professionals, we shall strive to attain the highest possible standards in all aspects of our work, including, but not limited to, preventative conservation, examination, documentation, research, and education. Our actions will be governed by an informed respect for the cultural property, its unique character and significance, and the people or person who created it. We shall practice within the limits of personal competence and education as well as within the limits of the available facilities. While circumstances may limit the resources allocated to a particular situation, we shall recognize a responsibility for preventive conservation by endeavoring to limit damage or deterioration to cultural property. Above all, we shall act with honesty and respect in all professional relationships, seek to ensure the rights and opportunities of all individuals in the profession, and recognize the specialized knowledge of others.