Booth Western Art Museum can place downloaded evidence onto a CD-ROM for law enforcement, according to Ken Wade, director of facilities and security at the museum.

The 80,000-square-foot Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Ga., is using its digital video surveillance equipment to monitor and protect valuable exhibits, including presidential letters, movie posters and contemporary Civil War art. The museum features a 140-seat presentation theater, a café, museum store, members’ lounge and 60-seat multi-media theater. It is home to a large permanent collection and hosts visiting exhibits, all of which require protection.

The security video equipment comes from GE Infrastucture of Austin, Tex.

“Prior to choosing GE, we visited several other museums across the country to review their security systems,” said Ed Ruzumna, director of engineering at the museum. “We also hired a security consultant who is well known for setting up security systems in schools and museums.”

The system consists of 70 fixed dome cameras, five pan-tilt-zoom cameras on the roof and a Digiplex IV video matrix switching system. Cameras can be remotely monitored from several rooms at the museum or at the facility's headquarters.