Mellon Grant Boosts Future Research Efforts at IPI
Over the past 20 years, IPI has earned a reputation for innovative research on critical issues in museum and library preservation. Research missions are generally carried out with project-by-project support from various funding organizations, including the Mellon Foundation.
This new grant will be used over a five-year period to address areas of need that were previously omitted from project budgets.
IPI will use this funding to explore new areas of research, collaborate with other laboratories, create preservation tools and publications, upgrade and maintain equipment, expand laboratory space, add staff and increase staff salaries. It will ultimately allow IPI to become more active in providing cultural institutions with information and new practical tools for preserving collections of imaging materials and other media.
IPI’s most recent contributions to the field of image and information preservation have been development of the Preservation Environment Monitor, an advanced datalogger designed specifically for preservation use, and Climate Notebook, a software application for analyzing and documenting institutional storage conditions.
Past accomplishments include development of collection management tools such as the IPI Storage Guide for Acetate Film and A-D Strips, for which IPI received a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In addition, IPI has played a key role in developing American and ISO standards relating to the permanence and physical properties of imaging media.