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IMAGINE RIT
Innovation & Creativity Festival
On Saturday May 1st, from 10 am until 4 pm, a fusion of art and technology will take place across the RIT campus when more than 400 interactive exhibits are displayed by students, faculty and staff.
The ehibits include: Wind turbines, robots, iTheater, film and animation festival, pneumatic pumpkin cannon, innovative "real time" news, eye tracking devices, RIT Model Railroad, space exploration, electric bicycle, global heart beat monitor, and more.
Admittance to the festival is free and open to the general public.
There will be activities for visitors of all ages, as well as food tents and arts and crafts for sale.
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Spring Cleaning for Photographs
Spring is coming and along with it comes the annual whirlwind tradition of cleaning the house. Airing out and cleaning rooms after months of winter storms helps clear out clutter and cobwebs and bring a sense of peace. Even though we may know the best way to care for photographs, sometimes our own personal collections fall by the wayside. While you're going through the house spring cleaning this year, why not organize and optimize where your personal collection of photographs and prints are? Here are some simple fixes for some very common problems.
Are your photos located in the basement, attic, or the garage? Because these locations tend to be either very hot or very humid - sometimes both - they are not safe for storing photographs. If the environment in your storage area is uncomfortable for you, then it will certainly be uncomfortable for your photographs. Is there a curio cupboard or bin in a closet or bedroom that could hold these types of objects? Not only is this a safer storage environment, it also keeps the photographs handy in case you'd like to pull them out to show to family or guests, or to get started on the album or scrapbook you've been meaning to tackle.
Are there photos stored in boxes or stacks in different places all over the house? This can make it very difficult to keep track of a personal collection and to find what you're looking for when you want it. Why not put all your stored photographs together? If you already have put some of the collection in albums you could choose to store the albums in a bookcase or separate storage area, while dedicating another space to the storage of loose photos. If you do consolidate your personal collection into one area, make sure that it's friendly for photographs! Remember, if it's comfortable for you, it should be comfortable for your images.
Is the whole collection stored in a shoe box or corrugated cardboard box? Loose photographs in these kinds of containers can bend or rip. Also, the poor quality cardboard used in the box construction can damage the photographs. Using a higher quality box, like an archival museum box, and stacking photographs in an organized way will reduce the risk of physical damage and allow you to locate a specific image more quickly.
Are the photographs stored with newspaper clippings? Are they wrapped in rubber bands to hold them together? Newspapers and rubber bands are extremely harmful to photographs. If you would like to store a clipping with the photographs it may be related to, substituting with a photocopy of the clipping would be much safer. The original newspaper clippings can be stored in another container nearby. Using photo-safe paper envelopes or mat board to separate stacks of images is also a big improvement on the rubber-band-wrapped stack approach.
Were your images thrown haphazardly into whatever container was handy at the time? Organizing photos by event, time frame, or subject will allow you to find them at a moment's notice, and may inspire you to put them into an album or share them with friends and family. Try sorting photographs for 15 minutes a week, or during commercials while watching TV. If you have older children, you may be able to enlist their help - they enjoy seeing old photos of themselves or their family. Just watch out for sticky fingers!
One of the best ways to store photographs is in a high quality photo album or scrapbook. This prevents weight from building up on the images as it does when photos are stacked. It also protects the prints while they are handled or shown to others. While it is a bit more time-consuming to organize and put photos into albums, it can also be a very rewarding family activity or something to do when spending time with friends. Whatever your time commitment can be, making sure that your personal photo collection is safe is a minimal addition to your spring cleaning routine, and it can be a huge cobweb cleared from your mind! |
Tips & Tricks
Simple Cleaning of Pencil Marks
 When attempting to get rid of pencil marks, use a white plastic eraser (PVC is OK for once!); do not use rubber erasers or pencil erasers. Erase from the center to the edge of your object using as little pressure as necessary. Be extra gentle around the text as the eraser can "bleach" it. Finally, brush off the eraser residue with a brush, not your hand or air.
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Term of the Month
Cold storage - A refrigerated storage space usually with temperatures under 45ºF (7ºC). Low temperatures decrease the degradation rate of organic materials such as paper and photographs, resulting in significantly increased usable life spans. Archival Advisor Glossary | |
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