RIT to Create Web-Based System to
RIT’s Image Permanence Institute will develop and test system; project
funded by IMLS
The Image Permanence Institute at Rochester Institute of Technology has
received a $332,760 grant from the
Museums and libraries are unable to manage environments effectively and
efficiently due to lack of staff time and in-house expertise, the difficulty of
determining the degree of risk or benefit to collections and the challenge of
organizing, maintaining and reporting on mountains of data.
The premise for the two-year research and development project called
WebERA, or Web Environmental Risk Analysis, is that environmental risks can be
managed and mitigated if they can be identified, quantified and then
communicated to museum leadership and facilities managers. The idea of using the
Web to store and share environmental data directly is new, but is firmly rooted
in the environmental research and development conducted by RIT’s Image
Permanence Institute over the past 13 years.
Project activities will include programming the WebERA web server
application and working with a selected pilot group of 10 museums and five
libraries to test the design and function of the WebERA system. Project results
will be made available to the preservation community through conference
presentations and a Web publication.
“The
success of our collecting institutions over the long term will depend not only
on how well they can market themselves, but also whether their collections are
in good enough condition to attract the attention of visitors and scholars,”
says James Reilly, director of RIT’s Image
Permanence Institute. “Environment is the least costly way to ensure that
competitive edge and to avoid the expense of preventable damage. WebERA is
designed to overcome the obstacles that most often prevent museums and libraries
from managing environments effectively and efficiently.”