The Image Permanence Institute (IPI) at the Rochester Institute of Technology received funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for a two-year research and development project called WebERA, or Web-based Environmental Risk Assessment. Our goal is to create a web server application with input from a research partners group, which consists of ten museums and five libraries. The final WebERA site will store and manage vast amounts of environmental data as well as a database of associated collection, location, and other information – including pictures and floor plans. The WebERA site will provide automated data analysis, a range of features and views, and the ability to share monitoring information to a range of stakeholders within an institution.
IPI 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:
Week 1 and 2:
IPI and Zak Software will review the Feature Topic, prepare a written introduction, and then post it on the blog in order for you, the Research Partner group, to review.
Week 3 to 6:
The Research Partners will have a month to explore and comment on the Feature Topic. During the same time, IPI and Zak Software will implement changes to previously reviewed topics as needed.
Week 7 and 8:
IPI and Zak Software will review the posted comments, decide what to change and how, prepare a written summary and response, and post the response. IPI and Zak Software will then start the cycle again with a new Feature Topic.
We look forward to hearing from you!
