May 09 2008
AIC 2008 Workshop- Setting up an Environmental Monitoring Program
One of the major reasons that I went to the AIC conference in Denver this year was to take part in this seminar presented by William Lull. Here’s the lecture/workshop description:
Setting up an Environmental Monitoring Program
9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; $130
William P. Lull, president, Garrison/Lull Inc.A one-day lecture/demonstration and discussion of the rationale, techniques and equipment used to monitor key aspects of collection environments for museums, libraries, and archives, with typical criteria and evaluation of monitoring results. Practical methods to monitor humidity, temperature, lighting, particulates, gaseous contamination and collection safety are discussed along with suggested equipment, classroom demonstrations, and practical field techniques. The program includes a discussion of techniques at various cost levels, and interpretation of hygrothermograph charts. This workshop is appropriate for both institutional and consulting conservators, as well as curators and other collections professionals.
Some of the most useful information for me came out of the class discussions; it was illuminating to hear some of the climate issues that other participants and institutions have encountered, and how they have dealt with those situations. I was able to meet people from climates similar to my own, and it was useful to have discussions about seasonal issues that don’t seem to have much documentation in the professional “best practices” standards.
Other things that were useful in the workshop: gaining a better sense of what other institutions are using for monitoring environmental conditions, and how they are using that data. Comparing the monitoring program that I’ve set up to that of similar institutions gave me a good idea of some steps I’d like to take to raise our program to the next level.
Later in the week, I also attended the Book & Paper Group discussion titled “Sharing information about environmental monitoring,” which gave me a much more comprehensive view of what other institutions are using as models, and of the variety of ways in which they use the data that they collect.
Before the conference, I was already using the IPI preservation calculators for paper and photos through Climate Notebook, but they are available as free downloads from the IPI website. There are a lot of free or low-cost resources out there to help with the initial setup of a monitoring program, though I’ve found that like most things, it does get more expensive as your needs become more sophisticated.