SessionAssessing Storage Environment for Mixed Media Collections:
The IPI Media Storage Quick Reference
Presenter Jean-Louis Bigourdan
Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technolog

ABSTRACT

Identifying Suitable Storage Environment for the Preservation of Mixed Media Collections: The IPI Media Storage Quick Reference

Since storage is the single most important factor for preserving media stability, IPI has focused on developing environmental-based preservation strategies.  It is recognized that climate conditions impact the physical survival of films, audio and videotapes, photographs, CDs and DVDs.  Each medium has its own needs in terms of optimum storage, and standard recommendations reflect these requirements.  As a result, a given storage may provide a suitable environment to one media and cause damage for another type of media.  Archivists dealing with mixed media collections are often facing that dilemma.  Most important questions are: Is the current storage environment adequate? What environment does the collection need?  Often, environmentmental compromises may be the only practical way to go. The IPI Media Storage Quick Reference (MSQR) was developed to assist archivists in making informed decisions for a wide range of materials either kept in separate storage, or as it is more likely, as mixed media collections.

This presentation will provide basic information in terms of media stability, will develop a simplified strategy for optimizing the life span of mixed media collections, and introduce the MSQR, a new tool for collections managers.

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SPEAKER BIO

Jean-Louis Bigourdan
Jean-Louis Bigourdan is a research scientist at the Image Permanence Institute (IPI), Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, USA. He has a background in Chemistry, photography and conservation of photographic materials. He received his diploma in the conservation of photographs from the Institut Français de Restauration des Oeuvres d’Art (IFROA), Paris, France in 1993.

Since 1994, he has been active in the field of preservation research at IPI. Most notably, he has been studying the effect of enclosures and microenvironments on the stability of photographic film. He also has been investigating the effect of cycling environmental conditions on library and archives materials. His contribution has led to the development of practical strategies for preserving film collections. More recently he has been conducting research dealing with the preservation of magnetic tape collections. He frequently conducts collection surveys and consults on the implementation of cold storage. His research results have been disseminated at numerous international technical conferences and have been widely published. He has lectured extensively on the preservation of photographic materials. He is a member of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) and of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) Technical Commission.