The engineers at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield work behind the scenes, keeping artifacts at the museum and library safe.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Staff call them the "ghosts" of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM). The engineers at ALPLM work behind the scenes, keeping artifacts at the museum and library safe. 

They are not protecting them from thieves or vandals, but instead from heat and humidity. With artifacts older than the Civil War, they must be kept in very specific conditions. 

"These aren't just pieces of paper, this is really historic documents and information," said Dorothy Hutchinson-Gross, Director of Facilities and Sustainability at ALPLM. "The swings in temperature and humidity can really be a problem versus having something that's maintained in constant throughout the life of that document."

The team of engineers uses a complex tracking system to see the exact temperature and humidity in real time at locations across the museum. If the temperature or humidity changes too much, they will get an urgent alert so the problem can be fixed. 

The software also enables them to identify exactly which pieces of machinery are malfunctioning, allowing them to target the problem quickly. 

"It's throughout our entire system, so it goes to our boilers, our chillers, our cooling towers, our air conditioning system, everything," Hutchinson-Gross said. "The whole team has to work together and make sure that the facility itself is being maintained to a level that will preserve those pieces well into the future." 

While the facilities team may not be the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to preserving artifacts, their understanding of science, technology and engineering is critical to helping artifacts last for a long time. 

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