Events

Tickets are required and free.

Location: The Palm Restaurant, 1672 Lawrence Street, 5 blocks from the conference center. [minutes]

Metadata for Conservators
Liz Bishoff, University of Colorado, Boulder[abstract]

Hierarchical Recording of Binding Structures
Dr. Athanasios Velios, University of the Arts, London[abstract]

What Lies Beneath: Treatment of 19th Century Canvas-backed Pennsylvania Coal Mining Maps
Amy Baker and Jean Ann Croft, University of Pittsburgh; Joseph Taranto and James Welsh, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection[abstract]

Balancing Preservation and Access with Commercial Interests
Jess Ahmon and Caroline Kimbell, The National Archives, United Kingdom[abstract]

Question and Answer Session for Morning Panelists

See No Evil, Hear No Evil: Audiovisual Evidence, Forensics, and Preservation in Law Enforcement
Snowden Becker, University of Texas, Austin[abstract]

Opening Remarks on the Digital Documentation Task Force
Jeffrey Warda, Task Force Chair

Practicum 1: Image Capture
Dan Kushel, Buffalo State College[abstract]

Practicum 2: Image File Management
Dawn Heller, Winterthur/University of Delaware, and Conservator in Private Practice[abstract]

Panel Discussion on Digital Photographic Documentation Recommendations
Franziska Frey, Dawn Heller, Dan Kushel, Jeffrey Warda, Gawain Weaver, Tim Vitale

EMG Business Meeting and Luncheon
12 Noon – 2:00 PM
Joe's American Bar & Grill
148 Providence Place Mall
401-270-4737
Lunch provided is a prix fixe menu of $10 per person payable at the restaurant

Business Meeting Notes (PDF)

Afternoon Session
2:00– 5:30 PM

2:00 PM
Introductory Remarks
Sarah Stauderman, EMG Assistant Program Chair

2:00 – 2:30 PM
Virtual Unwrapping
W. Brent Seales, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Kentucky[abstract]

2:30 – 3:00 PM
Direct Digital Capture of Cultural Heritage – Benchmarking American Museum Practices and Defining Future Needs
Franziska Frey, Assistant Professor, School of Print Media, Rochester Institute of Technology[abstract]

3:00-3:00 PM
MIC (Moving Image Collections)
Jane D. Johnson, MIC Project Manager, Library of Congress[abstract]

Break 3:30 – 4:00 PM

4:00 – 4:30 PM
Conservation of Digital Records: a Collaborative Electronic Records Project of the Rockefeller Archive Center and the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Riccardo Ferrante, Information Technology Archivist, Smithsonian Institution Archives[abstract]

4:30 – 5:00 PM
Teaching Audio Preservation at the Kilgarlin Center for the Preservation of the Cultural Record
Sarah Cunningham, Lecturer, Kilgarlin Center for the Cultural Record, University of Texas at Austin[abstract]

5:00 – 5:30 PM
A Case Study in Progress: What is the Difference between a Survey of a Repository and of a Collection? Surveying photographs at the Library of Congress
Andrew Robb, Senior Conservator, Library of Congress
Paul Messier, Private Photograph Conservator[abstract]

8:20 – 8:30 AM Introductory Remarks

Morning Session I
8:30 – 10:00 AM

Archiving the Avant Garde: Documenting Downtown New York Performance and Net.art
Three lower Manhattan cultural organizations and repositories will give demonstrations of innovative solutions and databases they have developed to address the unique challenges of documenting downtown and digital art.

8:30 – 8:55 AM
Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University
Ann Butler, Archivist, New York University[abstract]

9:00 – 9:25 AM
Franklin Furnace Archive
Michael Katchen, Senior Archivist, Franklin Furnace Archive[abstract]

9:30-9:55 AM
Rhizome.org
Francis Hwang, Director of Technology, Rhizome.org[abstract]

Break 10:00 – 10:30 AM

Morning Session II
10:30 – 12:00 Noon

10:30 – 10:55 AM
Preservation of Video in the Conservation Laboratory: 10-bit capture; using 0-108 NTSC IRE full scale; in 4:4:4 YUV or RGB color
Tim Vitale, Owner, Preservation Associates[abstract]

11:00 – 11:30 AM
A New Media Approach to Conservation and Exhibition
Sylvia Grace Borda, Associate Researcher and Lecturer, University of British Columbia[abstract]

11:30 – 12:00 Noon
A Stand Alone Database for Conservation Record Keeping: The Conservation Tracker System
Nancy Ash, Senior Conservator of Works of Art on Paper, The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Thomas F. Murphy, President & Chief Technology Officer, Inventive Software Solutions[abstract]

Overview
Is progress being made in addressing the many preservation challenges posed by technology-driven cultural materials? The Electronic Media Group's special 2004 program, supported with a grant from The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, answers this question by focusing on the latest efforts underway. Participants presented case studies and other examples of methods applied for the purpose of extending the life of electronic art, multimedia, audiovisual materials, computer and video games and other interactive works and environments.

Highlights of the program include:

• Results of the use of emulation in the preservation of electronic works in danger of loss due to technology obsolescence
• Collecting, documenting and caring for electronic equipment as cultural artifacts and as tools of artists and other innovators
• Case studies from InterPARES 2, an international research initiative focused on works produced in experiential, dynamic and interactive environments
• The development of standards of care in electronic art conservation
• The use of cutting-edge technology to overcome obstacles in playing back historic audio formats

The InterPARES 2 Researchers (from left): Sally Hubbard, Howard Besser, and Luciana Duranti

This meeting was planned in collaboration with Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP). Together EMG and IMAP are working to spread the word about the latest news in electronic media preservation. With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, a selection of the papers presented at EMG 2004 are available here as electronic publications.

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Fadeyev-EMG2004.pdf

Preservation-Worthy Digital Video; or, How to Drive your Library into Chapter 11
Jerome McDonough, Digital Library Development Team Leader, New York University

ABSTRACTFULLPAPER:McDonough-EMG2004.pdf

Collecting and Preserving Computing Equipment at the National Museum of American History
Beth Richwine, Senior Objects Conservator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

ABSTRACT

Recording the Recoding: The Documentary Strategy
Alain Depocas, Director, Centre for Research and Documentation, Daniel Langlois Foundation (Canada)

ABSTRACT

Artist Instrumentation Database Project
Mona Jimenez, Assistant Professor, Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University

ABSTRACT

Preserving Authentic Electronic Art Over the Long-term: The InterPARES 2 Project
Luciana Duranti, Professor and Chair, Master of Archival Studies Program, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia (Canada)

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Duranti-EMG2004.pdf

Electronic Cafe International: Aging Records from Technology-based Artistic Activities
Howard Besser, Professor and Director, Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Besser-EMG2004.pdf

The Danube Exodus
Sally Hubbard, Digital Projects Manager, Getty Research Institute

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Hubbard-EMG2004.pdf

Seeing Double: Emulation in Theory and Practice
Caitlin Jones, Project Research Assistant: Variable Media Network, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Jones-EMG2004.pdf

Digital Preservation and BBC Domesday
Paul Wheatley, Virtual Learning Environment Service Team Leader and Former Project Manager of CAMiLEON, University of Leeds (UK)

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Wheatley-EMG2004.pdf

Playing History with Games: Steps towards Historical Archives of Computer Gaming
Henry Lowood, Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections, Stanford University

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Lowood-EMG2004.pdfAPPENDIX:LowoodImages-EMG2004.pdf

Archiving the Avant-Garde: Preserving Digital/Media Art
Richard Rinehart, Director of Digital Media, Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive & Digital Media Faculty, Department of Art Practice, University of California, Berkeley

ABSTRACTFULL PAPER:Rinehart-EMG2004.pdfAPPENDICES:Rinehart-Appendices-EMG2004.pdf

Thursday, June 5

Pre-conference Workshop

1:00-4:30 PM
Identification and Care of Videotapes
Sarah Stauderman, Instructor

EMG is pleased to offer a special half-day course focusing on the problematic modern medium of videotape. For details on topics covered in the workshop and registration information, please seehttp://aic.stanford.edu/sg/emg/meetings/past/2003-arlington/videoworkshop.html.

Sunday, June 8

Morning Session: Joint Session with The Photographic Materials Group

9:00-9:05 AM
Welcome
Lee Ann Daffner
Conservator, Museum of Modern Art

Hannah Frost
Media Preservation Librarian, Stanford University Libraries

9:05-9:30 AM
Update on the Permanence and Preservation of Digital Photographic Prints: Another Installment from Wilhelm Imaging Research
Henry Wilhelm
Wilhelm Imaging Research

9:35-10:00 AM
Paper Negative Facsimiles[ABSTRACT]
Elena Simonova–Boulat
Fellow, Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation, George Eastman House

10:00-10:30 AM
Break

10:30-10:55AM
Update on Photographic Color Stability Test Methods[ABSTRACT]
Steven Puglia
Preservation and Imaging Specialist, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

11:00-11:25AM
Color Accurate Image Archives Using Spectral Imaging[ABSTRACT]
Roy S. Berns, Ph.D.
Munsell Color Science Laboratory, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

11:30-11:55 AM
A Collaborative Research Project on Spectral Imaging: Panel Discussion
Roy S. Berns, Ph.D.
Munsell Color Science Laboratory, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

Jim Coddington
Chief Conservator, Museum of Modern Art

René de la Rie
Conservation Scientist, National Gallery of Art

12:00-12:15PM
Question and Answer Session

12:20-12:30PM
Tip Session
Robin Siegel
Conservator, National Geographic Society

12:30-2:00 PM
Lunch

Afternoon Session

2:00-2:05 PM
Welcome
Hannah Frost
Media Preservation Librarian, Stanford University Libraries

2:05-2:30 PM
Web-Based Exchange of Infrared and Raman Spectra: A New IRUG Initiative[ABSTRACT]
Beth Price
Senior Scientist, Philadelphia Museum of Art

2:35-3:00PM
PLAYBACK: Preserving Analog Video[ABSTRACT]
Joanna Goldfarb
Associate Producer for Product Development, Bay Area Video Coalition

3:05-3:30 PM
The Care, Handling, and Longevity of Optical Media: Current Research at NIST[ABSTRACT]
Fred Byers
Information Technology Specialist, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Convergent Information Systems Division

3:30-4:00 PM
Break

4:05-4:30 PM
The Library of Congress Audio-Visual Prototyping Project: A Particular
Activity in a General Digital Library Context[ABSTRACT]
Carl Fleischhauer
Technical Coordinator, Office of Strategic Initiatives, Library of Congress

4:35-5:00 PM
Digital Conservation Treatment Documentation: An Assessment of the AIC Community’s Current Activity and Requirements for Further Guidance[ABSTRACT]
Marlan Green
Preservation Field Officer, Amigos Library Services

Jamye Jamison
Masters Candidate, Preservation and Conservation Studies, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin

4:35-5:00 PM
Question and Answer Session

5:30-6:00 PM
EMG Business Meeting
Elizabeth Schulte
EMG Chair

All are welcome to attend.

Sunday June 9

Morning Session Chair: Hannah Frost, Stanford University Libraries

9:00-9:25
The Straw that Broke the Museum's Back? Collecting and Preserving Digital Art Works for the Next Century
Richard Rinehart, Digital Media Director,
Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archives,
University of California, Berkeley

9:30-9:55
Building the Archives of the Future: NARA's Electronic Records Archives Program
Adrienne M. Woods, Communications Specialist,
Electronic Records Archive,
National Archives and Records Administration

10:00-10:30
Break

10:30-10:55
Dealing with Digital: The Effect of Electronic Media on the Preservation and Conservation Studies Program at the University of Texas
Karen L. Pavelka, Lecturer,
Preservation and Conservation Studies, The Center for the Cultural Record,
Graduate School of Library and Information Science,
University of Texas at Austin

11:00-11:25
Part II: The Effect of Electronic Information at the Preservation and Conservation Studies Program--The Student Experience
Marlan Green, PCS student specializing in the preservation of electronic information, Graduate School of Library and Information Science,
University of Texas at Austin.

11:30-11:55
Digital Imagery of Works of Art; A collaborative initiative from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Harvard University Art Museums
Ron Spronk, Associate Research Curator,
Straus Center for Conservation,
Harvard University

12:00-12:15
Question and Answer Session

12:30-2:00
Lunch

Afternoon Session Chair:Mitchell Hearns Bishop, Getty Conservation Institute

2:05-2:30
Using the Digital Scanning Camera, Theory and Practice
Michael Collette, President, Robin Myers, Technical Consultant,
Better Light, Inc. San Carlos, CA,

2:35-3:00
Digital Documentation in Conservation Practice: Thoughts on Transitional Guidelines
Dan Kushel, Art Conservation Department,
State University College at Buffalo

3:05-3:30
Conservation Driven Laser Scanning, 3-D Imaging and Replication of Maya Sculpture
Barbara Fash, Research Associate, Hrdy Visiting Curator,
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology,
Harvard University

3:30-4:00
Break

4:00-4:25
Permanence of Digital Printing Media: Update June 2002
Henry Wilhelm,
Wilhelm Imaging Research Inc.

4:30-5:00
Imaging Question and Answer Session
Moderator:Tim Vitale, Preservation Associates

5:00-5:30
EMG Business Meeting
Outgoing Chair, Tim Vitale

Saturday, June 2

Preserving Websites
Session Chair: Jill Sterrett

9:00-9:30
Rushing Toward the Future: Views from the Preservation Fast Track
Mona Jimenez, Media Consultant and visual artist

9:30-10:00
Collections Care: Developing Conservation Strategies for Digital Media
Pip Laurenson, Sculpture Conservator of Electronic Media and Kinetic Arts

10:00-10:30
Coffee Break

10:30-12:00
Websites Preservation Panel Discussion
Case-Study: 01010:Art in Technological Times website (SFMOMA exhibition: March 3-July 8, 2001
Moderator: Jill Sterrett, EMG Program Chair

Participants:
Mona Jimenez, Media Consultant and Visual Artist, New York City
Benjamin Weil, Curator of Media Arts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Pip Laurenson, Conservator of Electronic Media and Kinetic Arts, Tate Gallery
Paul Messier, Conservator, Boston Art Conservation
Steve Dye, Media Technical Manager, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

12:00-1:30
Lunch (on your own)

Digital Media as Tools of the Conservator
Session Chair:Will Real

1:30-2:00
JAIC Online: From XML to HTML via XSLT with lots of #@%* in between)
John Burke, Chief Conservator, Oakland Museum of California

2:00-2:30
Updates on Permanence of Digital Printing
Henry Wilhelm and Mark McCormick-Goodhart, Wilhelm Imaging Research Inc.

2:30-3:00
Imaging at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
Bob Futernick, Acting Deputy Director, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco

3:00-3:30
Coffee Break

3:30-4:00
NCPTT's Efforts in Digital Information Preservation and Access
Mary Carroll, Information Management Director, NCPTT

4:00-4:30
On the Development of Two Conservation-Based Websites: Albumen Photography and Lorain City History
Tim Vitale, Preservation Associates, Emeryville and Oakland, CA

4:30-5:30
Business Meeting

Sunday, June 3

Digital Discussion Group
Session Chair:Tim Vitale

Having reached consensus at the 2000 EMG Meeting that documenting conservation treatment by digital means is acceptable conservation practice, this year's discussion will focus on the merits of the various file formats used for the preservation of text and images. Image file formats (JPEG, TIFF and PSD) are fairly fixed, but the PDF file wrapper will allow better housekeeping and application of metadata to those files. Holding text files over long periods is much more problematic. Best practice may be to convert text documents into components held in a database. When required, the components can be recombined into any number of possible report combinations. Talks will cover the use of PDF file wrapper and databases is in practice today by preservation professionals. We will hear from advocates and critics.

9:30-9:50
Overview: File Preservation Strategies
Tim Vitale, Conservator of Paper and Electronic Media, Preservation Associates

9:50-10:10
Use of the Database Format for Storing and Accessing Textural Data
Bob Futernick, Assistant Director, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

10:10-10:30
Coffee Break

10:40-11:00
Use of XML, XSML and Databases for Conservation Documentation
John Burke, Chief Conservator, Oakland Museum of California

11:00-11:20
Use of PDF Format for Conservation Documentation
Mark McCormick-Goodhart, Wilhelm Imaging Research Inc.

11:20-11:50
Comparison of PDF and XML for Data Storage
Walter Henry, Lead Analyst, Stanford Library

11:50 until end (not more than an hour)
Discussion: Longevity of Digital File Formats

John Burke Chief of Consevation, Oakland Museum of California

Bob Futernick, Associate Director, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco

Walter Henry, Lead Analyst, Preservation Department, Stanford University Library

Mark McCormick-Goodhart, Research, Wilhelm Imaging Research

Tim Vitale, Conservator, Preservation Associates

2:00-2:30

Factors Associated with the Degradation and Failure of Magnetic Tape
Jennifer Hodgeman
Conservator, National Library of Australia, Canberra, Australia
and
Ian Gilmour
Manager, Research and Technical Services, ScreenSound Australia, Canberra, Australi

2:30-3:00

Digital Frontiers: Collecting in a Digital Age
Therese Mulligan
Curator of Photography, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY

3:30-4:00

Identification of Iris and other Digital Print Formats
Martin Jurgens
Queen's University, Kingston, ON

4:00-4:30

Recent Findings on the Fading of Digital Prints

Henry Wilhelm
Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. Grinnell, IW
and
Mark McCormick-Goodhart
Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. Grinnell, IW

4:30-6:00

Election Results
By-laws Changes
EMG's Role in the Membership's Data Storage
New Business from the Floor

9:00-9:30

Case Study: Image Services at the National Library of New Zealand

Mark Strange
Conservator of Photographs, National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, NZ

9:30-10:00

Paradigm Shift: The Relationship Between Bandwidth and Conservation of A/V Materials
Jim Lindner
President, Vidipax, NYC

10:00-10:30

Digital File Migration
Harrison Eiteljorg
Director, Archaeological Data Archive Project, Center for the Study of Architecture, Bryn Mawr College

11:00-11:30

Documentation Database Design and Implementation

Anna Stenstrom

Senior Conservator, Goldsmith Conservation Laboratory

and

Marc Reeves

Head Goldsmith Conservation Laboratory, New York Public Library

11:30-12:00

The Importance of Developing Administrative and Structural Metadata Standards for a Common File Storage Architecture
Merrilee Proffitt

Digital Library Development Specialist, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA

12:00-12:30

Digital Photography vs. Traditional Photography: Where Do We Stand in June 2000?
(Including digital camera and printer demonstrations by Mark and Henry)
Henry Wilhelm
Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. Grinnell, IW
and
Mark McCormick-Goodhart
Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. Grinnell, IW

2:00-5:00

Panel Discussion: Digital Documentation in Conservation

Andrew Robb
Anne Stenstrom
Dan Kushel
Harrison Eiteljorg
Henry Wilhelm
Jim Lindner
Mark Reeves
Mark Strange

Matt Biederman

Merrilee Proffitt

Paul Messier

Scott Sayer
Steve Dye
and more Conservators to be recruited

Cleaning Techniques Used in Videotape Restoration: A Preliminary Study:Mary Baker and Sarah Stauderman

Technological Challenges in the Museum: Installation and Maintenance of the Multi-Media Work of Tony Oursler at the Williams College Museum of Art:Monica DiLisio Berry

Photography Conservation Training Via Videoconference: A Project Report:Irene Brückle and Paul Messier

The Development of a Paint Cross Section Database:Bradford Epley

Using Radio Telemetry For Light, UV, Temperature and Humidity Monitoring:Martin Hancock

Working Digitally: A Photographer in the 90's:Stephen Johnson, Stephen Johnson Photography

Digital Techniques for Image Recovery Applied to Gelatin Glass Plate Negatives:Jill Koelling

Image Permanence and Care of Digitally-Produced Prints:Mark McCormick-Goodhart and Henry Wilhelm

Planning for and Costs of Digital Imaging Projects:Steven Puglia

Conservation Lessons Learned from the National Digital Library, Library of Congress; Preservation Implications of Large Digitization Projects:Ann Seibert, Mary Wootton, Alan Haley, Yasmeen Khan and Andrew Robb

Light Levels Used in Modern Flatbed Scanners:Timothy Vitale

St. Louis

Friday, June 11, 1999
8:30 - 5:30

H o m e |A b s t r a c t s |L i n k s & R e s o u r c e s

Related items of interest:

Abstracts from past EMSIG Meetings

EMG's Digital Discussion Group
Agenda for 1999

One of the most important steps in videotape restoration is cleaning. Conservation ethics demand that the least intrusive and reversible treatments be applied to original artifacts to return them temporarily or permanently to a restored state. Concerned about the efficacy and ethics of cleaning with polyester-based tissues, VidiPax™ worked with the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE) to determine the result of cleaning on original videotapes. 3/4 U-matic tapes supplied by the Smithsonian Institution were cleaned using the VidiPax™ technique and then examined using a Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectrometer (FTIR) at SCMRE. Mary T. Baker, Ph.D., of SCMRE pioneered the application of this analytical technique. The results of this project indicate that the VidiPax™ cleaning method using tissues is a non-invasive technique which does not alter the chemical make-up of the polyurethane binder. This talk described the FTIR as an analytical tool, the results of the trial run, and implications for cleaning techniques generally used in the videotape restoration community.

This paper discussed the exhibitionIntrojection: Tony Oursler Mid-career Survey, 1976-1999. The exhibition originates at the Williams College Museum of Art in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and includes a collaboration with the newly opened Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the computer animation firm Kleiser-Walczak in North Adams. The show will travel to three other venues through 2001. Over the last twenty years, Oursler has incorporated single channel video, performance, video projection, sculpture, drawing, painting, and most recently CD-ROM into his multi-media installations which combine humor and technological wonder with cultural commentary. Issues regarding loans, equipment, installation, maintenance, and security within the museum were addressed.

As is true for other areas of conservation education, the training of photograph conservators balances several areas of theoretical learning with various practical exercises and hands-on experiences. These latter skills, which include photograph identification and examination are usually integrated into an academic teaching schedule that allots extensive direct contact times between educators and students. While this format of conservation education is certainly not to be dismissed lightly, the current project considers the possibilities of using long-distance learning-long tried and proven useful in other education disciplines-via an interactive video conference system. During the past academic year (1998/99), students at the Art Conservation Department at Buffalo State College communicated with Paul Messier, photograph conservator in private practice in Boston and department consultant, for a number of video sessions. We assessed the limitations and possibilities of this form of teaching and considered its future uses. The talk also examined the practical realities of video conferencing including equipment options and striking a balance between image quality and cost.

Over the past 20 years the Hamilton Kerr Institute at Cambridge University has accumulated a collection of 4500 paint cross section samples generated through the treatment of paintings. A database project was designed to improve the access to these samples and facilitate their utilization as a study tool for both students of the Institute as well as other researchers. The database contains images of each cross section sample. However, as database searches based on the content of images are of a complexity beyond normal database development, a detailed verbal description of each sample is required. While the verbal conventions used to describe the subject matter of a painting may be generally understood, it is with considerably more difficulty that words have been used to systematically describe the appearance of paint as a material. Therefore, one of the main focuses of the project was to begin to develop a standardized set of notations for describing paint cross sections. The presentation focused on how problems of standardised terminology were addressed in a specific database. Additionally, the project was placed within the general context of the need for standardized terminology to effectively disseminate technical information throughout the profession and take full advantage of the opportunities presented by electronic media.

Whereas previously the monitoring of the environment in museums and archives has been undertaken using a variety of individual analog devices, the advent of analog/digital conversion technology and the increased use of personal computers has allowed for the development of remote telemetry monitoring systems. Such systems facilitate the gathering of real-time data from dozens or hundreds of individual sensors, all with alarms activated, so that out of specification conditions can be comprehended immediately by engineering, security or conservation staff.

Temperature has always been easy to measure and advances in humidity sensors have made long term humidity measurements reliable. Light (Lux) levels are simple to measure and cumulative light measure allows the understanding of the true effects of visible light and UV exposure on a sensitive object. UV measurement is often focussed on the percentage of radiant energy (mW/l, milliwatts per lumen visible light) from a lamp or skylight, which is useful for fixed lighting arrangements, but knowing the absolute amount of UV energy (mW/M2 , milliwatts per meter squared) falling on a delicate object gives an accurate measure of potential damage. Knowing the amount of visible light and UV radiation prior to mounting an object is central to building the case for limiting exposure of an object.

Digital imaging is hardly a new topic in the archive, museum, and library field. The speed at which this technology has been incorporated into our culture rivals that of photography itself. For the past several years, many institutions have started impressive scanning projects or have plans to do so in the near future. Therefore, this session was not designed to rehash the technical aspects of digital image creation. Rather, it highlighted the unexpected and often unrealized benefits of this amazing technology.

Digital technology allows damaged negatives to be electronically recovered. A common malady found in photographic collections are negatives turned bright yellow due to mercury iodide intensification. These negatives are very difficult to print in the darkroom, because the yellowed areas on the negative are virtually transparent. Many institutions gave up on these plates years ago, forgetting about them or in some cases disposing of them completely. Digital imaging offers a new solution. The scanner can record the subtle differences between tonal values in the affected areas of the image enabling information retrieval.

This same technology makes it possible to capture information in deep shadow areas of glass plate negatives, for example, and pull out details that are virtually impossible to reproduce using traditional darkroom means. 19^thcentury glass plates hold many more shades of gray than any modern photographic paper, making it impossible to reproduce with the fidelity of materials available. Today's scanners have the ability to see that information and make it available in a digital file. Using this technology, one can open the door of a settlement dwelling from the 19^thCentury and explore its construction, and even its interior. Recovering information from gelatin glass plates heretofore not retrievable for researchers is now possible and affordable.

This presentation focused on issues relating to the costs for digital imaging projects, including the various costs for projects, such as scanning, indexing, quality control, etc., and the costs to maintain digital data after the scanning is completed. The intent was to provide practical information that will facilitate the planning of digital conversion/access projects. Information about the National Archives' Electronic Access Project was also presented.

The National Digital Library Program is a largely privately funded program within the Library of Congress with a goal to digitize5 million primary source items and make them available to the public within a five year period. Thus far, the primary audience for the program has been the K-12 community of users. Heretofore, this user group has not been actively served by the Library, but they are high users of these materials on the Internet. The major concept which shapes the NDL program is that once users experience primary source materials in digitized form, they will be stimulated to go and search out the books that will tell them more about what they learned on the Library's Internet site. In reality, the response from life-long learners, researchers and the media has been impressive as well.

Access has evolved as the primary goal of digitization, although digitization as a tool for preservation, continues to be explored. Currently digitization as an emerging preservation strategy for materials that must be reformatted to be preserved, such as magnetic media is being undertaken by the Library.

Collections have been selected for conversion based on their intrinsic, historic and visual interest, However collection use, size, security and ease of handling by readers are also selection criteria. Collections representing the many formats held by the Library, currently are in production: autograph manuscripts, photographs, sound recording, moving film and microfilm. There are posters and prints and drawings and cartoons, sheet music and images of three-dimensional objects. Staff of the Conservation Division has been involved since the program began, to explore where digitization might serve the goals of preservation and to specify care of the Library's collections during all stages of the conversion process. It has been the task of Conservation to ensure that materials are physically prepared properly before the scanning and handled carefully to minimize the risks to original artifacts.

The aims of the National Digital Library Program and of the Preservation Directorate were not considered antithetical or competitive. We developed a relationship that combines the expertise and knowledge that we had to offer each other. Early experiences with American Memory, the precursor to the National Digital Library program, were the palimpsest for the way the work would progress. It has been a successful collaboration and one which continues to grow and change just as the technology continues to change.

This presentation explored the ways in which this relationship between the conversion operations and conservation were formed. Conservation has been actively involved in training NDL program and vendor staff and providing guidance for the handling of materials. In order to do accomplish test tasks, we have had to learn the basics of the digital technology. We examined how conservation needs and requirements were integrated into the specifications for contracts, evaluation of equipment and processes, and work flow of the National Digital Library. And finally we looked at what the future may hold for such relationships as we continue to evolve with new technologies and new approaches in preservation.

It has been said that scanning is equivalent to exposing an object to a day's, or a year's worth of sunlight. This was shown to be not factual, and is impossible. Typical scanning exposures for today's flatbed scanners range from 0.0000009 to 0.0000386 Mlx-hrs (million lux hours). A day on a museum wall, at 15 lux, is about 0.000600 Mlx-hrs; a years worth of sunlight ranges from 115 to 290 Mlx-hrs. Most sensitive works of art on paper have a predicted usable life of 4.5 to 10 Mlx-hrs. Seven different flatbed scanners were evaluated on the floor of the Seybold Publishing 98 seminar in San Francisco, 1998, with the help of several manufacturers representatives. The data was gathered at 1 second intervals using a time-based light measurement instrument consisting of an Extech light sensor connected to a notebook computer equipped with a Pico (UK company) analog to digital converter and Picolog software.

An overview of digital printmaking technologies with discussion of the roles of inks and media in the permanence of images, primary modes of deterioration, and strategies for long-term preservation.

Johnson's digital photography methodology will be discussed. The talk focused on qualitative and quantitative comparison between film-based and digital photography from the perspective of the photographer. Starting in 1989, Johnson has explored computers as new photographic and design tools. At present, he is finishing work on a major new endeavor, the digital national parks project With A New Eye, using digital sensors to make his photographs rather than film.

Electronic Media Special Interest Group's Second Session

Arlington, Virginia
Saturday, June 6, 1998

H o m e |M e e t i n g s |L i n k s & R e s o u r c e s

Art, Conservation, and the World Wide Web

Robert Futernick

Chairman of Conservation, Director of Collections Imaging

California Palace of the Legion of Honor

Lincoln Park, San Francisco, CA 94121

Recent advances in technology afford new opportunities for cultural institutions. Breakthrough imaging solutions, higher capacity computer storage, powerful database programs, and the Internet work together to provide a level of access to collections not previously possible. Because of a strong aesthetic sensibility and technical background, the conservator may be uniquely positioned and qualified to guide the institution toward a policy of preservation and access. In fact, conservation leadership can yield new opportunities for collection care while meeting other institutional goals. This talk describes the development and implementation of a comprehensive collection management program that combines conservation information and art history with digital images and web access for a large (110,000-item) collection of art.

The Universal Preservation Format for Digital Archives: 1st Year Progress

Thom Shepard

UPF Project Coordinator

WGBH-Boston

125 Western Avenue, Boston, MA 02134

On September 22, 1997, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers assigned the UPF an official Study Group (ST13.14). Titled Requirements for a Universal Preservation Format and chaired by Dave MacCarn, Chief Technologist at WGBH and the architect of the UPF, the group first met to establish an agenda and to hash out a statement of objectives. On December 9th, Dave MacCarn and I attended the first SMPTE work-study forum for both archivists and engineers. We reported on feedback from various conferences where we presented UPF concepts and from user surveys. We learned that many institutions with analog collections/ archives are seeking clear technical standards before they migrate to new storage technologies. A preservation framework must be robust, allowing for certain types of metadata to be embedded with the media.

Fred Mintzer

Manager, Image Library Applications

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

In this talk, the speaker will discuss some of those experiences and the issues they have uncovered, which include:

• advantages of digital imaging for some specific situations,
• methods for achieving high color fidelity,
• protecting the original materials during capture, and
• increasing capture volume.

Document Handling in Preservation Scanning

Steve Chapman

Preservation Librarian for Digital Initiatives

Preservation Center, Harvard University Library

Holyoke Center 821, Cambridge, MA 02138

Humidification, Flattening and Mending of IRIS Ink-Jet Prints

Andrew Robb

Conservator

Conservation of Photographs

922 N. Ivy St, #2, Arlington, VA 22201

Media Alliance Survey of Video Collections

Paul Messier, Conservator

Boston Art Conservation

60 Oak Square Avenue, Boston, MA 02135

The most significant challenge to conventional survey practice was the fact that almost no direct assessment of video image quality / deterioration was made. This limitation is the result of many factors (which will be examined in the talk) and will likely emerge as a characteristic of future surveys of media arts collections. Aside from the disconcerting reality of conducting an art conservation survey without the ability to actually see the art, many points emerged where contemporary art conservation practice is directly applicable to machine-readable media, including issues regarding collections management, storage environment, etc. Further, the project resulted in numerous avenues by which the media arts field as represented by curators, collectors and artists can help refine and implement future conservation endeavors. Through this type of engagement, the professional practice of media arts conservation will gradually develop, thereby attracting the resources and expertise required to preserve the unique cultural assets like those examined at the six survey sites. This project was developed and administered through the Media Alliance and was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Heritage and Preservation Program.

Documenting Magnetic Media Restoration

Jim Lindner, President

Vidipax

450 West 31st Street - 4th Floor - New York, NY 10001

Video Art and The Chimera Complex - Salvation or a Curse?
Carol Ann Klonarides

An Institutional Approach to the Collections Care of Electronic Art
Jill Sterret & Justin Graham

Conservation Considerations for Electronic Media from the Collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum
James de Young

Shared Resources for Conservation Documentation
Michael Skalka

Preserving Electronic Data - An Active Archival Process
Harrison Eiteljorg

Preservation of Electronic Media - Where Are the Standards?
Franziska Fry

Electronic Media Special Interest Group's First Session

San Diego, California
June 13, 1997

H o m e |M e e t i n g s |L i n k s & R e s o u r c e s

Video Art and The Chimera Complex - Salvation or a Curse?

Carole Ann Klonaridesis an independent curator and producer of experimental documentaries on the arts. From 1991-95 she was the media arts Curator at The Long Beach Museum of Art in Long Beach California which houses a collection of over three thousand works of video art spanning a twenty five year history. She is currently teaching the history of video art in art schools and universities in Southern California and is working on public projects in urban contexts utilizing video art.

Since its origins as an art form, video art has been the unclaimed offspring of the art & technology movement and commercial television. This unique position offered a reprieve from the overbearing pressures of the commercial art market and television programming demands, enabling artists to work unhindered in the pursuit of experimental work. But with this freedom from the conventionality of the establishment video art remained marginal due to lack of recognition and validation. The chimerical effect of video, which initially attracted artists, has generally diminished with the onset of newer interactive technologies. Ironically, video art has become sanctified by museums and galleries - just as the pioneers of the medium are moving on. The ignorance of its history and seemingly absence of memory underscores the need for education and preservation of this important art form. It this ephemeral medium being reborn or on the brink of obsolescence?

Preserving Electronic Data - An Active Archival Process

Harrison Eiteljorg IIis a classical archaeologist specializing in the architecture of Athens. His major publications have been concerned with the archaic entrance to the Athenian Acropolis. Mr. Eiteljorg began using computer-aided design programs more than a decade ago and has since worked to expand the use of computer technology in archaeology, founding the Center for the Study of Architecture to archive CAD models and starting the Archaeological Data Archive Project to archive archaeological files.

Preservation of electronic media - where are the standards?

Franziska Freyis a research scientist at the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Natural Sciences (Concentration: Imaging Science) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. She worked for several years on a research project dealing with the digital reconstruction of faded color photographs. She is currently working on an NEH-funded project called Digital Imaging for Photographic Collections; Foundations for Technical Standards.

Shared Resources for Conservation Documentation

Michael Skalka
Conservation Administrator, National Gallery of Art

An Institutional Approach to the Collections Care of Electronic Art

Jill Sterret &
Justin Graham
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Justin Graham is the Media Arts Program Assistant at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He is responsible for the research, installation and maintenance of the Media Arts artworks and programs.

Jill Sterrett is a paper conservator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She is one of the many conservators at SFMOMA who contributed to the discussion about care of the museum's media arts collection.

What is needed is an institutional memory which can recall a detailed account of the look, feel and intention of the piece and the institutional foresight to anticipate the future trajectory of its ongoing technological evolution. Preparing for the change and obsolescence of components, acknowledges that any steps taken are inherently temporary, and committing to a process of constant reassessment is central to the long-term care of such collections. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has already established a collections care program that can serve as a guide for other institutions who seek to preserve and exhibit electronic artworks.

Conservation Considerations for Electronic Media from the Collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum

James de Young
Senior Conservator Milwaukee Art Museum

James holds a bachelor of science in art from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh with majors in painting and radio, television and film. For the past twenty years, he has been at the Milwaukee Art Museum where for the past 15 years he has held the title of Conservator specializing in the conservation of paper. He has received fellowship support for advanced training, notably studying at the Upper Midwest Conservation Association and with Keiko Keyes.