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Job Opening: Preservation Research Associate

This full-time, one-year project position will appeal to professionals with a commitment to the preservation of cultural heritage and preservation research. It offers the successful candidate the opportunity to lead important research assessment activities, work closely with the Image Permanence Institute’s (IPI) diverse group of preservation experts, and strengthen project management, preservation research, and networking skills. The Preservation Research Associate will engage and solicit feedback from colleagues throughout the preservation community via online surveys, travel to preservation research laboratories, and in-person working meetings hosted at RIT and organized in collaboration with IPI staff. Survey data will be analyzed and summarized to inform the working meeting discussions, and the outcomes of all assessment activities will inform IPI’s research program priorities for 2021-2025. The position requires research experience, familiarity with the preservation field, and strong written and oral communication skills. At the project conclusion there may be additional research opportunities at IPI for the successful candidate.

Research Assessments and Institutional Planning at the Image Permanence Institute

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded RIT $165,000 in funding to support assessment initiatives that will inform and strengthen short- and long-term research goals and institutional planning at IPI. This initiative includes a preservation research assessment that will engage and solicit feedback from colleagues throughout the preservation community to identify research needs and priorities recognized in the field. Assessment activities will include online surveys and working meetings hosted at RIT with library, archive, and museum leadership professionals, preservation researchers, and preservation educators who can speak to the preservation needs of cultural institutions. A one-year, full-time Preservation Research Associate position will be hired to collaborate with IPI’s Executive Director, Jae Gutierrez, on completing the research assessment activities.

Read the RIT Press Release

Training Sustainable Environmental Management Teams for Cultural Institutions

IPI was selected to receive an award of $199,801 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to increase the capacity of humanities collections professionals to independently establish and maintain sustainable environmental management programs. In cultural institutions an environmental management team that includes both collections and facilities staff creates a structure in which the insights gained from environmental monitoring are actively used to inform environmental management. This two-year project emphasizes the value of environmental management teams and includes a series of webinars and workshops appropriate for small, mid-size, and large institutions that will provide essential knowledge and skills necessary for establishing environmental management teams. Project activities will be led by IPI’s Christopher Cameron, Sustainable Preservation Specialist, and Kelly Krish, Preventive Conservation Specialist. In the weeks ahead, IPI will conduct an online survey to inform curriculum development for this project.

Read the NEH Press Release

Enhancing the Educational Value of Graphics Atlas

IPI recently received a $17,000 Digital Resources grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation to add new preservation content to IPI’s online resource Graphics Atlas. Initially launched in 2007, Graphics Atlas currently has over 20,000 unique users a year and is an interactive digital resource that guides users through a process of identification and characterization of graphic print media. In doing so, it has proven successful in helping collections care professionals identify objects in print media collections and to better understand the history and material composition of print and photographic materials. New content, based on years of preservation research at IPI, will be developed by Al Carver-Kubik, Research Scientist, and will expand Graphics Atlas’ function to also inform preservation planning for print media collections.

IMLS Funds Emergency Response Research

IPI has been awarded a National Leadership Grant of $453,054 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for a three-year research project titled Evaluating the Potential for Freezing and Freeze Drying to Improve Water Emergency Outcomes for Inkjet Prints. The project aims to determine if freezing and freeze drying are safe and effective for the recovery of modern museum inkjet print collections affected by water emergencies. Daniel Burge, Senior Research Scientist, and principal investigator for the project notes, “Of course, the first action item for all institutions is to take steps to prevent wetting of their inkjet print collections, but disasters can and will still happen and salvage skills to ensure the greatest chance of recovery are absolutely necessary.”

New Product: Environmental Monitoring Starter Kit

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