AIC's 47th Annual Meeting

As conservators we all know that light damages the materials in our care and we know the importance of controlling light to reduce fade on an object. Traditionally we have managed light by establishing limits on exhibit length, limits on light levels and utilizing light reduction methods. While this is a good start, we still need to address the cumulative effects of light exposure. In order to do so we must approach light from a lifetime exposure standpoint. At the United States Army Heritage and Education Center we brought together existing knowledge about light to develop a new approach to light exposure. This approach utilizes the ISO Blue Wool Standard and information on material type, light levels and exhibit length to estimate exposure and track exposure over the life of the artifact. This allows us to make exhibit decisions based on light exposure and protect our objects from exhibit related damage. This new process required the development of several new tools to aid in the tracking of light levels both during and after exhibit. These tools can be utilized at any museum or archive no matter the size to help keep curators, archivists and other staff informed about light exposure and damage and to ensure objects are not damage while in our care.