1 Preserving and Archiving Astronomical Photographic Plates M. W. Castelaz, J. D. Cline 206 th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society Session I.The Need II.Requirements for Plate Center III.Infrastructure at PARI to meet that need IV.Implementation V.Special Session at 207 th Meeting of the AAS in January 2006

2 New observations complement past observations recorded on photographic plates. Analyses of changes provide essential routes to information about an object's formation, constitution and evolution. Preserving a century of photographic plate observations is thus of paramount importance. Plate collections are presently widely dispersed. Collections may be inaccessible, or in some cases lost, to both researchers and historians. Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute has the infrastructure to preserve collections. I. The Need

3 A secure area with controlled access Backup power for several hundred hours Several thousand square feet of floor space A solid foundation and space for a high-resolution scanner or densitometer High speed internet access Space for servers and storage media A clean, relative dust-free environment Maintained humidity and temperature Protection from sunlight II. Requirements for Plate Center

4 PARI III. Infrastructure at PARI to meet that need You are here

5 N Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute Not-for-profit public foundation PARI is uniquely placed and equipped to be a plate center Several thousand square feet of windowless space Concrete structures with concrete and raised flooring - ideal for storage and hosting remote computer operations Environmental controls (humidity monitoring, air filtration and air conditioning) are in place and can be supported with emergency backup systems Fiber-optics communication network Systems for water, fire protection and security

6 IV. Implementation To implement, funding required for Librarian/Photographic Plate Historian Information Technologist/Web Site Development and Maintenance Scanner Computers/server Optical Bench as scanner table Office furniture and supplies Receiving/Shipping Upgrade to Internet 2

7 Function when implemented 1. Preservation and Storage: collections will be sorted, cleaned and cataloged on-line Support multidisciplinary research (e.g. chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere, library information science, trends in local weather patterns, and impacts of urbanization on telescope use) Hand-written observatory logs will be a valuable resource for the science historians and biographers. 2. Digitization: Full scientific and historic use of the material then requires the observations themselves to be accessible digitally.

8 V. Special Session at 207th Meeting of the AAS in January 2006 Session Title: Preserving and Digitizing Astronomical Photographic Plates Call to astronomical community for the urgent need to address the problem of photographic plate preservation and digitization. 1. Series of 5 and 10 minute talks in two areas: Digitization of plates for research purposes Preservation of plates physically and by digitization. 2. Open discussion end