Training Sustainable Environmental Management Teams for Cultural Institutions

FAIN: PE-263506-19

RIT (Rochester, NY 14623-5698)
Christopher M. Cameron (Project Director: April 2018 to January 2022)
Jennifer Jae Gutierrez (Co Project Director: February 2019 to January 2022)
Kelly Krish (Co Project Director: March 2019 to January 2022)

Eight three-day workshops and five 60-minute webinars for staff of museums, libraries, and archives about managing collection environments in sustainable ways. An estimated 2,650 participants would learn to assess the preservation quality of environmental conditions and the needs of collections, and to understand the impact of local climate and the basics of HVAC operations. The curriculum would also include strategies for reducing energy cost and consumption in cultural repositories while maintaining the preservation quality of collection environments.

The Image Permanence Institute, a preservation research laboratory, is applying for funding to support a two-year project focused on improving and increasing 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. Webinars and workshops will provide essential knowledge and skills necessary for small, mid-size, and large institutions working to balance the preservation quality of collections environments with responsible building management and lower energy costs. This project has the potential to simultaneously improve the long-term preservation of humanities collections across the US while reducing the long-term costs associated with preserving those collections.