Environmental Monitoring and Photograph Storage Needs

FAIN: PG-51057-10

Historical Society of Dauphin County (Harrisburg, PA 17104)
Stephen Richard Bachmann (Project Director: May 2009 to July 2012)

Funding supports the purchase of equipment to monitor environmental conditions in the society's archives, library, and historic house museum. Shelving will also be purchased to store 300 linear feet of photographic prints, tintypes, daguerreotypes, glass plate negatives, lantern slides, and film. Library, archival, and material culture collections document the history of Dauphin County.

The Historical Society of Dauphin County seeks $5,901 for a two-part project. Part one is the establishment of a comprehensive, site-wide, environmental monitoring program. The Historical Society will purchase seven data loggers, data logging software, and a light meter. This equipment will be used to monitor the temperature, relative humidity, and visible light in the archives, research library, and society-owned John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion. A consultant will train staff on the installation and operation of the equipment and meet with staff after six months of monitoring to answer questions and discuss data evaluation. Part two of this project addresses immediate storage needs in the Historical Society's photograph archive. Archival shelving will be purchased to store negatives, photographic prints, and slides currently stored on wooden bookcases, the floor, and other inappropriate locations.