Archives of the Jagiellonian University

The Archives of the Jagiellonian University are one of the oldest and largest university archives in the world. The Jagiellonian University archive collects materials from an institution that has been operating for over 650 years and its collections have almost six thousand meters of current files. They document the uninterrupted and diverse activities of Almae Matris Jagellonicae over more than six centuries.

The resources of the Jagiellonian University Archives include numerous archival groups, including files of the rector’s office, the general assembly of the university, senate, faculties, colleges, dormitories, departments, prosecutor, the bursar and the entire administration as well as university benefices and foundations.

Currently, the entire archive consists of:

department of old files department of new files
department of the Collegium Medicum file
non-act documentation department research department of the history of the Jagiellonian University
paper and leather preservation department
audiovisual documentation department

The archive of the Jagiellonian University includes the Main Magazine and the Old Polish Workshop located in the building of the Jagiellonian Library at al. Mickiewicza and archival rooms at ul. Lindego and ul. Badurskiego in Kraków.

Locations of the Archive departments of the Jagiellonian University in which temperature and humidity loggers were installed.

Problem to solve / task

Maintaining optimal climatic conditions of the external environment in rooms with valuable documents requires daily monitoring and supervision. Until now, a person was appointed to check temperature and humidity on a daily basis, which entailed additional responsibilities and procedures.

Solution

24 Efento temperature and humidity sensors have been installed in the archive departments. The devices record parameters that are transmitted wirelessly to the Bluetooth / Ethernet Gateway. The gateway is connected directly to the LTE modem and transmits data to the Efento Cloud platform.

The data is visualized on an ongoing basis on the site plan, in case of exceeding the set parameters alarms are generated. The full analysis of the state of document storage is possible thanks to automatic reports.

This solution allows remote supervision over the environmental parameters prevailing in the archive. All data is saved on the server platform in the Efento Cloud. The platform is designed for objects where a dozen to several hundred measuring points are monitored. Data to the platform can be sent from any location, and access to them is possible through a web browser.

Loggers placed in the room

Efento wireless temperature sensors are one of the elements of the Platform for Supervision of Physical Quantities.
We also recommend flood sensor with alarm notification system for archives.
The manufacturer also offers sensors – recorders of temperature and humidity, pressure, differential pressure, flooding, opening-closing, fuel vapor sensors.

Efento Cloud solution enables collecting and visualizing data from loggers (e.g. in the form of a chart or tables) and generating automatic reports. If the set thresholds are exceeded, the system allows sending notifications to any number of users, both in the form of e-mail and SMS.

UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS SHOULD ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS BE KEPT?

Museum conservation standards set the following optimal parameters for storage and exposure conditions for paper objects: air temperature: 19-21 ºC, relative humidity: 50-55%, light intensity up to 50 Lux, UV emission up to 20 mW / m2; 75 μW / Lumen.

Decision No. 3 of the Chief Director of State Archives of 10 January 2007 on securing and protecting archival resources in state archives.

Collections stored in the archive are exposed to the adverse effects of external environmental conditions. The most common threats include:

incorrect relative air humidity – too low relative air humidity causes drying of adhesives, cracking of the skin, shrinkage of canvas and parchment, while too high penetrates deep into the book and escapes very slowly because the cellulose contained in the paper is a very hygroscopic material. If there is significant moisture, deep damage occurs inside the book due to swelling of adhesives in the bindings or the penetration of dyes from the bindings and illustrations to the neighboring cards, which creates conditions for mold growth. When the relative humidity exceeds 70% and at the same time low air temperature may develop microorganisms
incorrect air temperature – too high temperature causes the paper to dry out, ink fading, glue cracking and delamination
inadequate lighting – depending on the composition, condition and sensitivity to light, collections can be divided into three categories: documents with high sensitivity (e.g. black and white photos), documents with very high sensitivity (e.g. black and white prints, acid prints) paper) and documents of extreme sensitivity (e.g. colored prints, manuscripts, letters, documents, watercolors, pastels, painted leather)
the impact of gaseous and particulate pollutants – air pollution especially sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, formaldehyde, ozone) and dust of various origin, cause the greatest damage in archival collections
flooding and leaks – often in archive rooms there are central heating pipes, radiators or air conditioning, even a small failure causing a leak can cause severe damage

Measure value

Industries

Archives of the Jagiellonian University

Archives of the Jagiellonian University

Problem to solve / task

Solution

Products

Results

Control of environmental conditions

Time saving

Quick setup