Posts

Environmental Control for Collections

One of the major goals of a data monitoring program is to eventually make improvements to your collection environment. These improvements can be in the form of reduced energy consumption, changes to increase the longevity of the collection materials, or a combination of the two. Actively adjusting temperature, humidity, light, and the collection’s physical surroundings […]

Environmental Data Reports

A data report is any type of documentation that describes an analysis of your data. It can be short and simple or quite complex, depending on the amount of data and the depth of your analysis. Reports are used to share information with partners who may not have access to the data, or who don’t […]

Environmental Data Analysis

Once you have begun collecting data you are ready to set a timeline for environmental data analysis. Having a full year of data is ideal for preservation planning, but analysis can begin at any time – particularly if you are troubleshooting after a water incident or an equipment malfunction. Analysis doesn’t need to be complicated: […]

Relative Humidity and Temperature

Relative humidity is a measurement of the amount of water in the air. It is important to collection managers because the objects in our collections respond to relative humidity. Organic materials swell and shrink Organic collections (things like paper, cotton, ivory, or silk) will absorb and desorb moisture from the air resulting in a matching […]