Latest Preservation Stories

Micronized Copper-Treated Wood is Showing Rapid Decay Raising Concerns for Consumer Safety CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Findings on 4x4 posts at residential locations reveal dramatic evidence that wood treated with micronized copper preservative(MCQ(TM)) is decaying more rapidly than anticipated. These decay findings raise serious concerns about the structural integrity and safety of outdoor structures, such as decks and fencing, built with micronized copper preservatives within...

Struggling to protect historic treasures in tight financial circumstances, heritage experts fear accelerating deterioration due to climate changeThe growing relationship between scientists and curators is the focus of a 4-day, UN-affiliated international conference in Caracas designed to promote innovative ways to stem the decay of some of humanity's greatest art and cultural treasures."With the world financial crisis and the advent of climate change effects, there is a state of...

Although people entered the digital world years ago, a great number of human historical records did not make the transition. As a result, a vast amount of newspapers, scientific journals, court records, corporate documents, literature, film and other material, accumulated over hundreds of years, needed to be modified for computer databases.  And once there, it had to be positioned alongside newer, digital material in a way that would allow people to quickly find the information they...

The world has gone digital in just about everything we do. Almost every iota of information we access these days is stored in some kind of digital form and accessed electronically -- text, charts, images, video, music, you name it. The key questions are: Will your data be there when you need it? And who's going to preserve it? In the December 2008 edition of Communications of the ACM, the monthly magazine of the Association for Computing Machinery, Dr. Fran Berman, director of the San Diego...

To: STATE EDITORS Contact: Howard Pollman, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, +1-717-783-9882 HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/--The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission today presented the first Visionary in Historic Preservation award to a Philadelphian who has used her expertise in land use and the environment to further historic preservation efforts in Pennsylvania. PHMC Executive Director Barbara Franco presented the honor to Joanne Denworth, an...

IBM Research (NYSE: IBM) today announced an entirely new way to preserve digital information, so it can be read decades after it was created despite future changes in digital formats. Researchers at the lab in Haifa, Israel, are ensuring that digital files -- such as photos, movies, music, videos, financial records, health records, manuscripts, and more -- will be accessible and readable for decades and possibly even centuries -- no matter how the content was created. Why Long-Term Data...

By Jonathan L'Ecuyer, Gloucester Daily Times, Mass. Aug. 6--ROCKPORT -- Money from the Community Preservation Act could purchase watershed land, repair Rockport Art Association buildings, pay for design work at the Community House, and assist residents who need help paying their rent or mortgage. The Community Preservation Committee, led by Chairwoman Mary Francis, is recommending Town Meeting on Sept. 8 approve the dispersal of $531,002 for four projects. The most expensive project is a...

By Chawadee Nualkhair BANGKOK (Reuters) - From India's Taj Mahal to Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Asia's cultural landmarks are threatened by man and nature and more must be done to protect them, experts said on Monday. Earthquakes, floods, civil strife and looting loom large as potential threats, while the more mundane ravages wreaked by tourists could turn ancient attractions into victims of their own popularity. "The greatest threat is actually people like ourselves who do not have much...