In these days of conditional grant-aiding and forward-looking display modules, the ‘Do not touch’ signage system has become rather redundant. Many curators and conservators are faced with the prospect that more of their collections are becoming part of interactive and tactile displays and conservators are facing an increasing workload of repairing fragile biological items that have been handled rather severely or have been eaten by pests who regard open displays as a natural banquet! Although this means even more work for conservation staff, the concept of looking without barriers and being able to touch, so far outweighs the increased workload.
