March and April 2009

Thanks to all of you for a recent burst of activity! We are glad that nearly everyone is able to attend the final meeting on May 7th and 8th and we look forward to seeing you again. Spring will definitely be in full swing in Rochester by then.

In preparation for the close of the project we have prepared a rather lengthy – but very important – survey for you to complete. It is available here and will be sent to you as an email attachment as well. It will probably be easiest to print it out and fill it in. You can then mail it to me or bring it with you in May. Alternatively, if you would prefer to fill it out on the computer, feel free to email the completed survey to Patti – pafpph@rit.edu. We would like to have them all returned by the end of May. Many of the subjects of this blog posting are included in the survey and you can respond there. All of your input will be summarized and posted on the blog. Your feedback and commentary is essential to this project and it is critical to us that your forward your thoughts and experiences to us.

Download the Survey (Word Doc)

A few other project activities remain. The IPI project team initially planned to complete final assessment reports for each participating institution before the May meeting, but we won’t be able to finish these until after the meeting. We have determined where IPI’s two follow up visits to participant institutions will take place—The University of Colorado in Boulder and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Finally, you may have already noticed some programming updates made to the MyClimateData site recently. These include:

• Additional permissions have been added to Logins/Edit Logins (Utilities Page)
• Repairs were made to non-functioning PDF links – hopefully they work now

January and February 2009

As WebERA research partners you have two primary responsibilities—test the design and function of the MyClimateData system, and coordinate environmental management activities within your institution. We hope that you have had the opportunity to review the use of MyClimateData within your institution as well as professional colleagues, and that you have shared the data and associated information with other “stakeholders” in the process. The topics featured in this blog are related to these activities.

Feature Topic #1: Working within the Institution

One of the primary reasons for designing MyClimateData as a web-based system was to allow broader access to data within an institution. Based on IPI’s experience while working with institutions over the past decade, we know that information sharing among various institutional stakeholders—conservation, collections, facilities, and administration—is essential in order to achieve and maintain a preservation environment. When you reach the point of instituting mechanical system changes, which will result in improvements in the storage environment for preservation, you will have to work as a team with informed, active participation from both collection care and facility management staff, as well as administrative support.  We feel it is very important to create a process and a forum through which information can be shared and decisions can be taken collectively.

Our questions for you are:

• Which departments in your institution are involved in monitoring, reviewing, and analyzing environmental data?
• How is the collected data used in your institution? Is the data shared, and if so, how?
• How does information based on the collected data inform decisions about collection storage, use of space, or other long-term preservation issues?
• Do you routinely work as part of a team with representatives from both facilities and collection care on issues related to the storage environment? If so, how does this work? If not, do you think this is something that could be done effectively in your institution?
• Have you shared the MyClimateData site with others in your institution? Who and why? What were the results?

PEM2 Leap Year Transition

As most of you may already know by now, the PEM2 has encountered an unexpected but solvable issue that has been discovered with the monitor’s handling of the leap year transition.

On or after the last day of the leap year (12/31/08), when uploading data from the monitor an error message will appear showing the number 4 and the wrench icon on the display. This issue is easily rectified and data prior to 12/31/08 will not be lost or compromised in any way.  However, there will be a gap in data collection from 12/31/08 until the monitor is reset.  Prompt resetting will minimize any impact in long-term data analysis. 

The steps for resetting the monitor are relatively simple.  Should you prefer to implement them yourself, instructions can be found at:
http://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/pem2_restore.shtml

Below are some helpful tips from a fellow webERA partner, Wayne Gathright UW-Madison:

“University of Wisconsin-Madison has monitors in ten buildings spread throughout the 933 acre main campus. To make the job more efficient, I took a wireless-equipped laptop and two USB flash drives to each of the monitor locations. Each location has wireless access. I used one flash drive to retrieve the data from the PEM2. The other flash drive contained the reset command file.

After I retrieved and corrected the data files, I saved them to the laptop’s hard drive. Using the wireless Internet connection, I could verify that the files were corrected and viable as described in section 2, step 8.

IMPORTANT STEP: After the corrected data files have been verified as viable, the retrieval flash drive needs to be cleared using “Quick Format”. (Right click on the drive letter for the flash drive. Select Format. Check the Quick Format option.) Otherwise, the next PEM2 can’t write the data file to the flash drive.

I cleared the retrieval flash drive and used the flash drive with the command file to reset the monitor.

I wanted to visit each location only once. This setup worked quite well for me.” 

- Wayne Gathright UW-Madison

We have been contacting everyone to implement the solution, which takes only a few moments.  You may also call us at (585) 475-5199 and we will assist you at your convenience.  Our goal is to reset all monitors as quickly and efficiently as possible, with minimal interruption to the users. 

If you have anything else to add or need assistance, please leave a comment. 

November and December 2008

Update on September and October Topics

Thanks to all of you who have provided input and helpful suggestions on the September and October blog topics – particularly Carl Stewart at the University of Colorado! I don’t think that Carl left any element of the site unturned, which is what we need. Unfortunately, only six out of fifteen of our research partners responded. We really need a better response than that. I know it takes time, but all of you did agree to provide your time in exchange for the free loggers and other elements of the project.

By now, all of you should have uploaded and imported data into all of your locations. Last time I checked (10/22), eight of you had not. If you are having difficulty with this function, let us know by email, and we will work with you to get the data into the system.

Feature Topic #1: Analysis using Preservation Metrics

We need more input from all of you regarding environmental risk analysis and the use of the environmental quality ratings (Good, OK, Risk), which are based on the Preservation Metrics (TWPI, MRF, %DC, EMC Max and Min, and Corrosion). These are the elements of IPI’s approach to environmental monitoring and analysis, which are unique, and we feel have a great deal of potential for helping users manage the storage environment for preservation.

Please read the following PDF document: An Evolution in Environmental Control. If you need more detail about the development of the Preservation Metrics, please re-read the “Understanding Preservation Metrics” handout provided at the workshop last March.

September and October 2008

Finally! Direct Data Upload is Available

Your WebERA sites have been re-directed to an updated version of MyClimateData. Just go to www.myclimatedata.com and log in as usual. All the functionality remains but the look has been updated, many of the tasks have been streamlined, and the instructional text has been improved. Most importantly, the updated site allows direct upload and import of the data, which you have been collecting since March.

A new Data Manager link exists on the top navigation bar. This new feature centralizes upload, import, export, removal, and viewing of data. The Data Manager section contains four options – Location List, Upload Files, Import Files, and Upload Weather Data. To access and use the upload and import files functions, the correct permission has to be assigned. I have assigned these to your account, but you may want to assign them to other users in your institution (refer to Creating or Editing User Accounts in MyClimateData). 

The Upload Files and Import Files options allow you to upload the data that you have been collecting. To upload and import data: 

1. From the Upload Files section, upload your files. You are now ready to import them. 
2. From the Import Files section, assign the data file to the correct location, save it, and import it. The file name is saved in the Import File Name field on the Information page and is automatically associated with this location during subsequent uploads until you change it. (The Import File Name information field is now a required field and it has been added to your Information page.)

For complete instructions on how to upload your data, refer to Uploading Data in MyClimateData.
 

July and August 2008

Update on May and June Topic

The comments posted on the first Feature Topic were great – although there were several of you who we did not hear from. I am hoping for more participation this time around. Your insights did help us to have a clearer view of the initial setup process. We will be working through the new user setup functions and testing them more thoroughly for future users. We will also give more thought to the terminology and descriptions used to identify collection types, materials, and names in the final version of the program. Finally, we need to reconsider how we explain the importance of the location name in identifying the monitored site.

This month’s focus is on adding photographs and maps or floor plans to a location. We originally intended to include reports as a topic, but have decided to delay that until you have data to work with on the site.

Direct data upload to your WebERA site should be available soon. Both the upload and import functions have been programmed, and we are currently testing and preparing written documentation and instructions. We will let you know when it is ready for use.

Remember to send any technical support questions that need immediate attention directly to Patti at pafpph@rit.edu.

Feature Topic #1: Photographs, Maps, and Map Icons

The uploading of photographs, maps, and maps icons functions were included in the site when we worked with the National Museum of Denmark. The administrator was managing over 150 locations and needed images as a reminder of the actual location as well as the placement of the logger. He felt that the images would also help the staff that collected data for him. We are interested in knowing how valuable you think these features are, and how you would expect to use them.

Welcome to the WebERA Project Blog!

The WebERA Project Blog is a central location for communication between IPI, the WebERA Research Partner group, and Zak Software.

General discussion about the project will be ongoing, with focused discussion on feature topics introduced approximately every two months. The IPI Team will post feature topics based on the current Myclimatedata site on a regular schedule over the next twelve months. The early topics do not require you to have a lot of data to view and compare, since your PEM2 loggers only recently started collecting data. Please experiment with the features within the topics and review them with your colleagues. In addition, please document the ease of use, information value, effectiveness, and potential appeal to a broad audience of collecting institutions. You may also note any potential time and cost savings to users. All of your thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

Please forward any technical support issues, which require an immediate response, directly to Patti at pafpph@rit.edu (or (585) 475-2843). Patti will make sure that someone will address your issues as soon as possible. Later, these technical issues will be categorized and posted under the Technical Support section on this blog. The Technical Support section can be used as a tool to discover solutions to issues that others or you might have.

We expect the review of feature topics to proceed as follows:

Feature Topic (May and June 2008)

Workshop Reflection & MyClimateData Setup

Our first feature topic for your review and comment is based on the work done at the initial two day WebERA workshops.

During each workshop, we presented and discussed the Workbook process, or the new user wizard, which guided you through the process of:

• Designing functional location names
• Defining consistent terms for the Location Tree hierarchy (site, building, floor, room)
• Developing a controlled vocabulary for certain data kinds – collection types, materials, and collection names
• Identifying and organizing data kinds and kind groupings
• Setting up and editing the information page for each location

We wanted to encourage a broad overview of all the collection storage and exhibition locations in your institution, which could be narrowed down to the most important locations to be monitored. At the conclusion of the first workshop, we felt that our emphasis on this was misguided and potentially confusing and overwhelming for new users – yet, it still has value. The second workshop benefited greatly from our less-than-ideal presentation of these topics the first time around. However, we felt that even though the presentation went smoother than the first workshop, the process could still be improved. We are interested in your thoughts and comments about your experience during the workshop as well as your suggestions for improving the presentation.