An Internet-of-Things End-User Development Approach to Environmental Monitoring of Cultural Heritage Archives

Abstract

End-user development (EUD) seeks to facilitate the extension and customization of systems during use, with increasing possibilities and complexities as the Internet-of-Things (IoT) computing paradigm becomes widespread. One domain that stands to benefit from adopting such an approach is that of environmental monitoring in cultural heritage archives. Monitoring environmental conditions in cultural heritage organizations is vitally important to ensure effective preservation of archives, though existing systems tend to be costly and/or limited in functionality. This research explores archivists’ need for end-user development features in their environmental monitoring systems through a focus group, constructs a resulting prototype, and reflects upon the potential impact of IoT technologies on facilitating EUD behaviors within archival practice.