A wall chart has been developed that outlines preventive conservation, disaster planning, and remedial conservation. It is intended for collection managers, planners, architects, etc., who need an overview of this part of a museum's functions. It is a matrix, with a row for each of nine agents of deterioration. Conservation columns are grouped into building features, hardware features, and procedures. Within each cell of the conservation matrix are five stages: 1) avoid sources; 2) detect; 3) block; 4) respond; and 5) recover. These stages uncover a universal pattern in most conservation activity.