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PEM2® Recalibration Request Now Available Online

We've improved the process to request recalibration/repairs for IPI’s PEM2® data loggers. Simply use this form and fill out the information requested and a packing slip for printing will be generated. Print the slip and include it in the box along with the logger(s). Recalibration is recommended every 3 years. Service includes battery and humidity sensor replacement, firmware upgrades if applicable, and issuance of a new certificate of calibration.

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Free Process Identification Webinars

This webinar series, funded by The National Endowment for the Humanities, is free and open for all to attend. The first three webinars will discuss the various materials and technologies of photographic prints. The next two will teach a methodology and controlled vocabulary for process identification, as well as a demo of how to use Graphics Atlas. The last one will include an overview of collections care for prints and photographs including proper storage, handling and display methods, and guidelines for the storage environment. Watching the webinars as a series is encouraged but not required. Recordings of the webinars will be made available.

More information and registration >>

IPI Executive Director Appointed: Jennifer Jae Gutierrez

Gutierrez, who most recently served as the Arthur J. Bell Senior Photograph Conservator for the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona in Tucson, began her new position on April 10. She succeeds James Reilly, IPI’s founding director, who retired last December after nearly four decades at the institute, part of RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences. Gutierrez, a distinguished photograph conservator, conservation educator and administrator, said she is both delighted and humbled to become IPI’s new leader. "I’m dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage, and, as executive director of IPI, I will have the potential to contribute to the preservation of collections around the world through leading IPI’s preservation research and educational initiatives," she said.

Read the official RIT News press release

Two short videos that introduce IPI’s approaches to sustainable management of collection storage environments

These videos were created to supplement a series of webinars and workshops conducted from 2014 -2016 with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access. The first video, Sustainable Management of Collection Environments—Dynamic Approaches (watch now), challenges the premise that the best and most sustainable preservation environment is always static and unchanging. A modern view, based on extensive research, is that for many collections a dynamic approach can be more effective and sustainable. The video explores the fundamental ways in which collections deteriorate and talks about balancing collection needs, costs and institutional capabilities. The second video, Sustainable Management of Collection Environments—IPI’s Perspectives (watch now), presents IPI's perspectives on the practice of environmental management. It talks about the role of data and data analysis in achieving a healthy collections environment and shows how to get started with blending sustainability with sound preservation methods.
 

Apply Now: Process Identification Workshop Dates and Venues Announced

Funded by NEH, this free three-day workshop will teach participants the tools and skills necessary for successful photographic process identification and care by breaking down the complicated subject into simple and easily manageable sections. The seven selected locations are: Rochester, NY, Atlanta, GA, Tucson, AZ, San Diego, CA, Austin, TX, Chicago, IL, and Boston, MA. Since attendance is limited to 20 participants at each venue, we are asking that applications be submitted for consideration. Attendees will be selected based on order of receipt as well as the need for a diversity of institution types and roles. Early application is highly recommended.

More information on dates and venues >>

IPI Awarded Major Education & Training Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

The Image Permanence Institute (IPI) at Rochester Institute of Technology has received a $182,730 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Preservation and Access Education and Training program in support of "Teaching a Methodology for Photographic Process Identification." During the two-year project, IPI will attempt to reach the broadest audience possible using a variety of outreach tools, including seven regional workshops, six 60-minute webinars and three short video tutorials on photographic process identification and care. These educational programs will focus on how to use Graphics Atlas, an online reference resource developed by IPI. Alice Carver-Kubik, a photographic research scientist at IPI and content developer for Graphics Atlas, will lead the project. Stay tuned for upcoming workshop dates and locations. 

Read the official press release

Jean-Louis Bigourdan Receives Silver Light Award at AMIA

Jean-Louis Bigourdan, Senior Research Scientist at the Image Permanence Institute, received the Silver Light Award from the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) on November 10th in Pittsburgh, PA. The Silver Light Award recognizes outstanding career achievement in moving image archiving. Measures of achievement may include substantial contributions to the field over an extended period, leadership in the field, work in professional societies or other professional activities, writings or publications, preservation and restoration projects, innovations that advance the cause of preservation, and patronage donated to archives or archival projects.