Preserving the Magna Carta with Temperature and Humidity Monitoring

CLEVELAND - April 16, 2019 - PRLog -- T&D Data Logger Provides Reliable Solution for Museums

In 1215, England's King John created the Magna Carta, the charter of liberties granted to the King's Barons in order to halt their rebellion and restore their allegiance to his throne. When the Magna Carta (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta) was created, it secured only the rights of a privileged class of the king's subjects. However, after centuries of interpretation and controversy, the Magna Carta has become an enduring symbol of liberty and the rule of law. In the Fall of 2014, the Lincoln Cathedral copy of the Magna Carta is one of four remaining copies of the manuscript created in 1215, was loaned to the U.S. Library of Congress as part of an exhibition: Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor. The exhibit included the Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta as well as other documents, books, letters, newspapers, judicial decisions and images that provided an account of the initial drafting of the Magna Carta and the many confirmations by kings and parliament. In order to validate the conditions of the fragile document while on exhibit, the Library of Congress required a reliable and accurate temperature and humidity monitoring solution.

Installation / Usage

The Library of Congress selected the T&D TR-702NW-H high precision data logger. This logger has been discontinued and no longer available for purchase. The logger featured a high precision temperature and humidity sensor, local LCD display and wired Ethernet connection. The network connection allowed the logger to automatically send data files to a network server for archive as well as communicate to the SMTP e-mail server to send out alert notifications in the event the environmental conditions exceed the user-configured limits.

Large local memory of 8,000 temperature and 8,000 humidity readings, 0.3 Degrees C and +/- 2.5 %RH accuracy over a wide range -30 to 80 Degree C and 0 – 99% relative humidity position the instrument for a wide variety of environmental monitoring applications protecting sensitive materials and products.

Importance of Preservation

According to the archivists, preservation of the document is critical during the exhibition. Humidity can cause parchment to attempt to revert back to the natural shape which would distort the print since the ink remains stable. The TR-701NW-H is a small, unobtrusive device making it ideal for use in exhibits like this. Having accurate recording of the environment, an reliable temperature and humidity monitoring system with alerting in the event of excursions provides both the document's owner and the exhibitor peace of mind.

CAS Dataloggers distributes the full line of T&D data logger products (https://www.dataloggerinc.com/products/tandd/) which include wired Ethernet and WiFi solutions as well as wireless monitoring system that fill the needs of virtually any monitoring application.

For more information on T&D Data Loggers (https://www.dataloggerinc.com/products/tandd/), temperature and humidity monitoring or to find the ideal solution for your application-specific needs, contact a CAS DataLogger Application Specialist at (800) 956-4437 or request more information (https://www.dataloggerinc.com/need-more-information/).