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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Image Permanence Institute

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United States
Rochester, NY
Image Permanence Institute

An academic research center in the College of Art and Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

04/26/2026

Later this week Jae Gutierrez, Emily Bernal, Marvin Cummings, and Emma Richardson will be attending the American Institute for Conservation’s 54th Annual Meeting in Montreal, a joint conference with the Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property.

If you are attending the conference, visit them at booth 305 of the exhibit hall to discuss IPI’s current research initiatives, education program opportunities, updates on eClimateNotebook, and consulting or testing services.

On May 1st of the conference, Emma will present Investigating the Prevention of Mold Germination in Museum Collections During Sustainable Operations and Emergency Response, a summary of IPI’s ongoing mold research funded by an Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant for Museums.

04/24/2026

Next week is the American Library Association’s annual Preservation Week!

The theme for 2026 is, “Is This Thing On?: Preserving Memory and Building Archives.”

Visit the Preservation Week website (url provided in the image for this post) to learn more about the free webinars being offered.

04/22/2026

This Earth Day, we’re celebrating sustainability through informed action.

At the Image Permanence Institute (IPI), we partner with libraries, archives, and museums to implement practical, sustainable environmental management strategies, informed by data driven decision making and aligned with building performance and mechanical system capabilities.

Through environmental monitoring, ongoing data analysis, and cross-team collaboration, institutions can reduce energy use while maintaining strong preservation environments.

A well-designed environmental monitoring program is the most important first step!

Interested in working with us? Visit the link in our bio to start the conversation.

03/26/2026

IPI is currently accepting applications for its second Getty Global Art & Sustainability Fellow, a 2-year Fellowship funded by a grant from Getty.

For this Fellowship, we are seeking applications from candidates with an educational background in mechanical engineering, building physics, data science, preservation science, or related field. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in preservation science and cultural heritage preservation. The goal is to identify a Fellow with engineering skills who is interested in pursuing research on topics such as energy monitoring, the role collection materials can have on temperature and relative humidity management, or energy saving strategies/materials that have proved successful in other fields, but not yet tested or evaluated for collection environments.

Use the link in our bio to learn more

03/12/2026

IPI is introducing a new webinar series this Fall designed for preservation professionals who would like to develop a foundational understanding of the thermodynamic principles that govern what happens in storage and display environments and why these phenomena matter.

Part I:
The Indoor Environment, Air and Water - October 8th

Part II:
Indoor Heat Gain and Loss - October 22nd

Part III:
Practical Concepts of Heat Gain and Loss and the Psychrometric Chart - November 5th

All webinars will be offered from 1:00-2:00pm ET. Learn more and register at the link in our bio.

03/04/2026

Curious about factors to consider when implementing seasonal relative humidity (RH) set points? Interested in potentially broadening the acceptable RH range in a high density storage facility? Need advice on avoiding RH extremes in historic houses?

This Spring, Emily Bernal - IPI’s Sustainable Preservation Specialist and Getty Art & Sustainability Fellow - will present three webinars on different approaches to sustainable management of relative humidity in collections spaces.

Swipe to see all three topics and dates. Visit the linktr.ee link in our bio to learn more and register!

02/16/2026

We are thrilled to announce that the new version of eClimateNotebook went live today!

Many thanks to the super team of professionals at RIT - in IPI and ITS - who created the new version.

We look forward to supporting our users with their ongoing environmental monitoring needs and to the future development of eClimateNotebook.

12/18/2025

Happy holidays from all of us at IPI!

IPI will close early on Wednesday, December 24th and reopen Monday, January 5th. Wishing you a rejuvenating holiday season and joy in 2026!

12/04/2025

IPI is looking for a highly skilled and motivated Research Scientist to join our team and advance knowledge and research in the chemical degradation and stability of cultural heritage collection materials.

Learn more about the position and apply at RIT’s Career Zone: 9984BR

The application review process will begin in mid-January. Questions can be directed to the search committee Chair: Emma Richardson, Director of Research, [email protected]

12/02/2025

Today is IPI’s birthday and we are celebrating 40 years of:

- Collaborative laboratory and field-based preservation research projects,
- practical education and training programs,
- productive partnerships as preservation consultants, and
- the development of research-based preservation planning resources and tools.

Thank you for your support and contributions to our success!

11/14/2025

IPI’s research team has been collecting a lot of data for our Investigating the Prevention of Mold Germination in Museum Collections During Sustainable Operations and Emergency Response researh project, and data analysis has begun.

This week, team members were conducting water activity measurements for parchment and paper samples using a Rotronics water activity sensor. Some of the samples have been aged, while others have not. Data collected from both the aged and unaged samples will enhance our understanding of how water activity may vary between new versus aged hygroscopic materials.

The water activity sensor allows the v***r pressure at the surface of the sample to be measured, which is influenced by the amount of moisture available for mold germination at the object level. This non-destructive method of analysis has been widely used in the food industry to assess surface-level moisture, as opposed to measuring RH at the room level. We are currently investigating whether this method might be an appropriate technique for in situ analysis of collections when assessing the risk of mold. Watch this space for our verdict!

Address

70 Lomb Memorial Drive GAN 2000
Rochester, NY
14623

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.com/

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