The Nationwide Cemetery Preservation Summit will be held October 19-21, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. The program will feature contributed papers, a poster session, and an optional half day of field sessions and workshops.

Cultural Heritage Imaging developed a comprehensive training program for 3D digital rock art documentation and preservation, based on state-of-the-art computational photography techniques that are emerging as the next generation of cultural heritage tools for use both in the field and in museums.

In this episode, Jason Church speaks with Curtis Deselles, an intern with the Materials Research program at NCPTT, discusses the use of eddy currents and eddy current technology in conservation science. Mr. Deselles has built several eddy current analyzers, custom software, and presented on this topic at a non-destructive conference in St. Louis.

NCPTT has been using eddy current technology in preservation and will be bringing this tool to the iPhone platform in 2010. Download Episode 8 as an mp3 or subscribe via iTunes.

A good plan can determine whether a cultural collection survives a disaster or fades into memory. And while nature can be unpredictable, the online disaster-planning portal “dPlan” offers a streamlined, reliable way for institutions to protect their cultural collections. Created through funding by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, dPlan is a free, online tool that allows cultural institutions to complete a customizable disaster plan for their organizations. NEDCC, a nonprofit regional center for the preservation and conservation of paper-based materials, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), developed the tool.

This summer, NCPTT, the Tulane School of Architecture, the Preservation Trades Network, and Save Our Cemeteries hosted training on treatments for above ground cemeteries damaged during Hurricane Katrina.

Topics included masonry applications, preservation technology, limewash, appropriate treatments for tombs, and a history of the cemeteries of New Orleans. This video was produced by Tulane University.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is creating a new, interactive way of preserving historic landscapes. Slated for launch in October, the PTTGrant-funded “What’s Out There” project will raise awareness about the wide range and diversity of historic landscape design through a collaborative Wikipedia-style website. The site will enable users to directly contribute information, resulting in a comprehensive catalog of significant landscape designs.

Ultimately, the What’s Out There project seeks not only to make design landscapes more visible on a national scale, but also wants to encourage original scholarship aid in future NR and NHL nominations, encourage state and local landscape inventories, generate cultural landscape reports and inspire design professionals.

NCPTT, in cooperation with the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, will host a round table discussion to consider the creation of an historic landscape maintenance certification program.

Discussion topics will include defining target audiences, training subjects, and training formats. The day and a half-long meeting will be held at Hampton National Historic Site, Towson, Maryland, Sept. 1-2, 2009.

For more information, contact Debbie Smith.