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Integrating advanced imaging and processing capabilities in libraries, archives, and museums requires effective systems and information management to ensure that the large amounts of digital data about cultural artifacts can be readily acquired, stored, archived, accessed, processed, and linked to other data. The Library of Congress is developing advanced digital imaging capabilities into effective preservation and verification tools as part of a larger scientific preservation study, processing, and research system for implementation by other institutions. An integrated hyperspectral imaging system provides a critical nondestructive tool for research into paper, parchment, photographic, and other objects within the Library and other cultural heritage institutions. This article addresses the implementation of this capability and appropriate metadata standards and the impact on the development and convergence of information architectures and systems in libraries, archives, and museums.

This paper presents the findings of the first multi-analytical investigation of the Book of Uí Mhaine, one of the largest Gaelic Books surviving from the medieval vernacular period. A combination of protein analysis, point X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), multispectral imaging (MSI), point Fiber-Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) and point Raman spectroscopy was used to perform a systematic investigation of the Book of Uí Mhaine's constituent materials, including parchment, inks and pigments. The analysis revealed that the parchment was made of calfskin, both blunt tools and Pb-containing materials were used for ruling the pages throughout the manuscript, and iron-based inks were used to write the content of the book. The decoration was restricted to the initial letters and rubrication across the body text. The decoration color palette was limited to yellow and red, comprising arsenic-, mercury- and lead-based pigments. A copper-based green pigment was found only on one folio. The scientific knowledge acquired through this multi-analytical approach complemented a substantial corpus of knowledge already built by Gaelic scholars, paleographers, codicologists and conservators. This work not only allowed for the consolidation of existing information on methods and materials used for the production of medieval Gaelic manuscripts but also laid the basis for future comparative work with other contemporary traditions in Ireland and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical alkali silicate glass is prone to deterioration over time due to the uptake of atmospheric water and subsequent hydrolysis of the silicate matrix. Recent studies of historical glass have provided insight into the mechanism of alteration; however, few techniques can assess early onset glass alteration noninvasively. Herein, we present fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) as an invaluable tool to analyze historical glass alteration. We study a series of artificially aged model potash glasses and assess the nature of the alkali‐depleted alteration layer by microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy, and FORS. We find that the model glass FORS spectra demonstrate peaks associated with hydroxide, liquid‐like water, and bound water. FORS was able to detect an alteration layer as thin as 0.66 µm. The model glass data were then used to generate a hydration thickness prediction curve in order to predict the alteration layer thickness of twenty‐one 19th‐century glass flutes of similar composition. In the one case that an actual flute sample was available, the predicted value was in good agreement with previous SEM measurement. The results indicate the ability of FORS to noninvasively assess glass deterioration and to understand the nature of absorbed water in historical glass objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on audio-visual preservation at the U.S Library of Congress. Topics discussed include impact of revolution on the demand of paper, new media formats launched by manufacturers that includes compact discs and digital versatile discs and the collection of audio-visual materials available at cultural heritage, academic and business institutions.

In this paper a non-invasive quantitative multi-spectral imaging technique was used for monitoring the degradation of parchment caused by light exposure. The parchment samples were aged for 24, 48, 72 and 120 hours in a weather-ometer ageing chamber to simulate a long term sunlight exposure. The effect of light exposure when a ultra violet (UV) filter is used was investigated. The degradation was monitored by using Light Emitting Diode (LED) multi-spectral imaging coupled to multivariate statistical methods and infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques in order to elucidate the mechanism of the parchment ageing and to correlate chemical and imaging data. A description of the effect of light exposure is given: the degradation of collagenous phase and thermo-oxidative phenomena are not involved in the photo-oxidation process and, as expected, the UV radiation accelerates the ageing effects. Moreover the non-invasive imaging methods used for the detection of ageing and the monitoring o f the conservation state of the parchment surface were able to identify the non-visible degradation long before possible detection by other common analytical techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]