Environmental Monitoring of the JCHS Facility

FAIN: PG-50713-10

Jefferson County Historical Society of Indiana (Madison, IN 47250-3731)
Joseph Daniel Carr (Project Director: May 2009 to November 2013)

Funding supports the purchase of equipment to monitor environmental conditions in a facility housing approximately 5,000 photographs, 5,000 county and city records, 2,000 items of clothing, and 1,000 Civil War artifacts. The focus of the collection is the history of the town of Madison, Jefferson County, and the surrounding area. Additionally, a conservator will train the staff of the historical society in the use of the monitoring equipment.

The Jefferson County (In) Historical Society has completed a Conservation Assessment; it was conducted by Martin Radecki, from the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Using that assessment, we have developed a long term plan for the management of our collections. Our top priority is to achieve a complete understanding of our facility's environment and make needed adjustments. To that end, we will purchase 3 Temp & Humidity Data Loggers, 4 Hanwell Lux Bugs w/data loggers for monitoring light and ultra violet light, and a psychrometer. After installation, we will use these instruments to monitor the environmental conditions for the period of Jan 1, - Dec. 31, 2010. Since the present staff is not experienced in using this technology, we will bring Radecki back to Madison for two days to set the equipment up and teach us how to use it. At the end end of the period, we plan to use Radecki again to analyze the data and make recommendations. Total project cost is $6,372.