Instructors: Fenella France and Meghan Wilson, Library of Congress
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 2 hours
Course Date/Time: Monday, June 19 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Prerequisites: Exploring Multimodal and Spectral Imaging, from Simple to Complex, or equivalent knowledge.

Benefits:
This course enables the attendee to:

• Learn processing techniques to reveal and enhance non-visible text and information through principal component analysis.
• Expand their image processing capabilities through the analysis of layered spectral data with examples ranging from basic 3-channel RGB images to complex 17+ waveband data sets.
• Map and characterize the spectral responses of various materials across an image through classification methods, as well as identify inks, pigments, and colorants on a range of heritage substrates.
• Apply spectral curve analysis to track change over time and identify at-risk collection materials.
• Explore the cultural, societal, and contextual impact of the information contained within original source material including evidence of provenance.

Course Description:
Spectral imaging of cultural heritage materials captures layers of new information through a range of processing techniques that expand the capabilities of heritage professionals to reveal hidden and preservation-related information about an artifact. Image processing of spectral data allows the detection of erased or redacted text to reveal author intent, identification of watermarks for establishing provenance, rendering of non-visible elements like prior treatments, analysis of creation techniques to examine how objects were made, characterization and identification of materials, and the use of spectral curves to track change over time in cases of treatment or exhibition. This data answers critical research questions for scholars, expands content knowledge for curators, and assists in the preservation of collection items.  This course includes hands-on processing of actual spectral imaging datasets.

Intended Audience:
Professionals who work with collections in libraries, archives, museums, and other heritage institutions who are interested in expanding the scope of information they can capture from their materials. It is intended for individuals both new to and already familiar with spectral image capture, but who have taken SC01 Exploring Multimodal and Spectral Imaging, from Simple to Complex or the equivalent. This includes digital specialists, photographers, conservators, archivists, curators, librarians, and heritage researchers and scholars.

Fenella France, chief of the Preservation Research and Testing Division, develops non-destructive imaging techniques for collections. Her focus is spectral imaging and processing techniques to increase links between scientific and scholarly data. She received her PhD from Otago University, New Zealand, and has worked internationally on many heritage projects. She serves on a range of professional committees, collaborating with colleagues from academic, cultural, forensic, and federal institutions. She is currently on the Advisory Boards for CHANGE – Cultural Heritage Analysis for New Generations, UCL Cultural Heritage Data Management, and CLIR.

Meghan Wilson is a preservation science specialist in the Preservation Research and Testing Division at the Library of Congress with a degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has worked extensively on spectral imaging programs around the world and specializes in operation, training, quality control, and data management of this imaging technology.