Webinars

Webinars
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Upcoming Webinars
Webinar Series: Best Practice for Using the IPI Preservation Metrics to Assess Risk in Organic Collections
April 24 and May 8, 2025
When evaluating a collection space environment, one of the primary questions to address is: how can I quantify the risks to my collection? The IPI environmental metrics for decision-making, Preservation Metrics, were first developed in the 1990s to help collections care specialists 1) account for the complexities between deterioration of collection materials and their environmental exposure and 2) to provide balanced approximations of the risks posed by particular storage and display environments. This two-part webinar series serves as an introduction to using the IPI Preservation Metrics to evaluate and assess collection risks.
Webinar Series: Monitoring Collection Storage Environments
May 29, June 12, and June 26, 2025
Team Participation Encouraged - In collecting institutions an environmental management team that includes both collections and facilities staff can create a structure to environmental management that includes regular meetings of collections and facilities staff to review data, discuss strategy, plan for changes, and generally inform each other about what is going on in their respective roles. For this webinar series we suggest team participation and encourage facilities and collections staff to attend the webinar sessions together.
This sequential three-part webinar series will serve as an introduction or refresher course on the fundamentals of environmental monitoring of collections storage spaces. Each webinar summarizes key concepts outlined in IPI’s Guide to Sustainable Preservation Practices for Managing Storage Environments including understanding how environmental conditions influence the preservation of collections, collecting environmental data, and evaluating environmental data for collection storage spaces. The webinar will also discuss critical guiding principles for managing environmental conditions for cultural collections, and introduce field guideposts such as The Bizot Green Protocol and PAS 198:2012.
Preservation Performance and Reuse of Sealed Frame Packages for Transit and Display
August 21, 2025
Paper-based objects that are sensitive to changes in relative humidity (RH) are commonly enclosed in sealed frame packages (SFP) to create microclimates for transit or display. This webinar will summarize findings from a recent IPI research project in which twenty-six different SFP designs were investigated for their effectiveness at buffering against external RH changes. Following initial conditioning of paper-based objects and enclosure materials at 45% RH, dataloggers were placed inside each SFP and exposed to 70% RH for 12 weeks. The internal response of the SFPs to the external RH were quantitatively assessed, alongside qualitative assessments of material reusability.
Environmental Conditions in Shipping Crates During Transit
September 4, 2025
Historically, museum objects going out for loan travel by crate. As the cultural heritage profession looks to address sustainability, institutions are re-evaluating all aspects of museum operations, including how to address sustainability in crate design. Currently there is limited data documenting what environmental conditions objects actually experience in museum shipping crates while traveling. This webinar will summarize the results from a 3-year field study monitoring crate performance during travel. It will address the types of risks associated with temperature and relative humidity conditions in crates during travel and will highlight best practices when weighing environmental risk with sustainability.
Webinar Archive
Introduction to 3D Printing for Cultural Heritage
August 24, 2023 Watch the Recording
Sustainability on Display: Preservation-Friendly Ways of Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Museum Exhibits
February 3, 2022 Watch the Recording
Introduction to HVAC Systems
October 14, 2021 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
Sustainable Preservation: Quick Tips and Approaches for Museums, Libraries, and Archives
May 6, 2021 Watch the Recording
Energy Monitoring for Cultural Heritage Institutions
February 19, 2021 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
Responding to Issues
July 9, 2020 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
Setting Appropriate Parameters
June 11, 2020 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
Understanding Fluctuations and Equilibrations
May 14, 2020 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
Evaluating Collection Spaces
August 16, 2019 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
Preventive Conservation and the Role of Environment
July 25, 2019 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
Using Identification to Improve Collection Preservation and Access
February 14, 2018 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
A Methodology for Process Identification, Part 2
January 10, 2018 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
A Methodology for Process Identification, Part 1
December 13, 2017 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
21st Century Materials and Technologies
November 8, 2017 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
20th Century Materials and Technologies
October 11, 2017 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)
19th Century Materials and Technologies
September 13, 2017 Watch the Recording Download (PDF)