Subject education of protecting documents with a focus on visual cultural heritage Cover Image

Výučba predmetu Ochrana dokumentov so zameraním na obrazové kultúrne dedičstvo
Subject education of protecting documents with a focus on visual cultural heritage

Author(s): Vladimír Bukovský, Katarína Kianicová
Subject(s): Museology & Heritage Studies, Photography, Preservation
Published by: Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave, Filozofická fakulta
Keywords: preservation; conservation; preventative protection; black and white photography; color photography;

Summary/Abstract: This paper introduces a course titled „Preventative Document Protection“ which is currently a part of the „Mediamatics and Cultural Heritage“ curriculum in the „Library and Information Studies“ program of the University of Žilina and aims to provide students with knowledge and skills related to the protection of documents in institutions dedicated to archiving and heritage protection and preservation. As a part of the most recent iteration of the course, students conducted research on modeling accelerated aging of materials exposed to increased temperature, humidity and light, tested the effect of different chemical compounds and their neutralization on black and white photographs and surveyed color photographs and slides in the funds of the Slovak National Library in Martin and various private collections. Such surveys are helpful when developing a manual for the identification of unprovenanced photographs and slides. We also addressed the issue of color theory using the CIE LAB color space and implementation of the Preservation Index (PI) as proposed by the Image Permanence Institute (Rochester) to estimate the shelf life of unstable materials. The objective of this research is to create a manual for the long-term prognosis of the condition of unstable materials. Students enrolled in this course have made a significant contribution to the creation of this manual.

  • Issue Year: 3/2015
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 37-50
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Slovak