Image Permanence Institute
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
The Image Permanence Institute (IPI) is a university-based, non-profit research laboratory devoted to scientific research in the preservation of visual and other forms of recorded information. It is the world's largest independent laboratory with this specific scope. IPI was founded in 1985 through the combined efforts and sponsorship of the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology. Funding for IPI's preservation research and outreach efforts has come mainly from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Additional funding comes from generous donations made by corporate supporters. IPI is a provider of information, consulting services, practical tools, and preservation technology for libraries, archives, and museum collections worldwide.
IPI's staff of fifteen works in six principal areas:
- research on the stability of information media
- development collection management tools and environmental standards
- ISO standards development for imaging media preservation
- testing of imaging materials and archival storage products
- training of photograph conservators (in collaboration with George Eastman House)
- outreach through publications and consultation