IPI Awarded Major Sustainability Grant

The Image Permanence Institute at Rochester Institute of Technology has received a $580,174 grant for a major research project dealing with sustainable preservation practices in libraries. The grant comes from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency.

Many libraries maintain tightly controlled, energy-intensive environments for their stacks, special collection, and exhibition spaces. For budgetary reasons and because of concern over global climate change, libraries are searching for ways to lower energy consumption responsibly and safely. This project will investigate a promising method for libraries to achieve significant reductions in energy use without compromising the preservation quality of collection environments through a carefully monitored and risk-managed shutdown of air handling units (AHUs) during unoccupied hours. Five prestigious libraries all across the USA will partner with RIT to help determine through actual experiment and documentation whether it is feasible to save energy in this manner.

During the final phase of the project, the team will create a free publication that documents project methodology, results, and suggestions for overcoming potential barriers to implementation. It will also provide actual costs of operation for special environments and recommended best practices for controlled, risk-managed AHU shutdowns. The team will also design a Web-based resource to help libraries maintain the best possible climate for preservation with the least consumption of energy.

RIT's sustainability research project is among the larger awards made this year under the IMLS National Leadership Program, which funds projects with the potential to elevate museum and library practices and have national impact and generate results. "This award validates the research path that IPI and RIT in general have been working on with respect to leading-edge sustainability studies. If this project is a success, there is the potential to save libraries and museums hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on energy costs, while at the same time, better preserving their collections," said James M. Reilly, Director of RIT's Image Permanence Institute.

The project is set to start December 1, 2009.