CoOL

Environmental monitoring and control


Bibliographic resources
General resources
Temperature and Relative Humidity Guidelines
Light and lighting
Microclimates, exhibit cases, etc.
Resources at other sites


Bibliographic resources

Selected print materials

The following are some core items that everyone should know

Appelbaum, Barbara
Guide to Environmental Protection of Collections, Sound View Press, Madison CT. 1991. ISBN 0-032087-16-7

Lull, William P.
with the assistance of Paul N. Banks
Conservation environment guidelines for libraries and archives, Ottawa : Canadian Council of Archives, 1995. 102 p. : ill. ; 28 cm. Includes index. Issued also in French under title: Lignes directrices concernant les conditions de conservation ambiantes dans une biblioth�que et dans un dép“t d'archives.
Subject headings: Library buildings--Design and construction. Archive buildings--Design and construction. Library materials--Conservation and restoration--Planning. Archival materials--Conservation and restoration--Planning.

The museum environment, 2nd ed. London ; Boston : Butterworths, in association with the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, 1986. 293 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm.

General resources

The Chicora Foundation
Managing: The Museum Environment

Georgia State Archives
The Storage Environment

Tim Padfield
An introduction to the physics of the museum environment
This web-book in progress contains chapters on temperature, RH, light, environmental monitoring, etc.

The Role of Absorbent Building Materials in Moderating Changes of Relative Humidity. Ph.D. thesis

Indoor Air Pollution Working Group
Abstracts from presentations

"A two day conference entitled Museum Pollution : Detection and Mitigation of Carbonyls was held at Strathclyde University on the 17-18 June 1998. Over 30 delegates from the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and the US attended. Several carbonyl pollution issues were discussed and a number of actions were proposed. The year after the second meeting of the IAP Working Group Detection and Prevention of Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) was held at Instituut Collectie Nederland, Amsterdam"


Richard L. Kerschner and Jennifer Baker
Practical Climate Control: A Selected, Annotated Bibliography

Ellen McCrady
Indoor Environment Standards: A Report on the NYU Symposium, Abbey Newsletter, Volume 19, Number 6-7 Dec 1995


National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Sarah S. Wagner
Cold Storage Handling Guidelines for Photographs, 1991

Alternative Archival Facilities
14th Annual Preservation Conference
March 1999)
Held on March 25, 1999,
at the National Archives Building
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

"NARA's Annual Preservation Conferences cover topics on the creation, use, exhibition, care and handling, duplication, and long term storage of information on paper, film, tape, and disk.

"The 1999 topic, Alternative Archival Facilities, covered underground storage; cold storage vaults; conventional freezers; adapted space, such as upgraded rooms or storage areas not originally intended for archival storage; and specially built, high-density depository structures where the material is stacked very high, expected retrieval is infrequent, and the building is so well insulated that little air conditioning is necessary. There are special challenges associated with each of these alternatives. For example, How does water drain from an underground room? What are the risks of fire and fire suppression in caves and high density storage areas?

"The following conference papers ... include standards, hints, tips, and models on how to utilize alternative space for the storage of archival and library materials."

Overview of Alternative Space Options for Libraries and Archives
by Paul Banks, Consultant
A survey of current alternative space utilization for archival and library materials.

Standards for Permanent Records Storage and Presidential Libraries
by Richard Judson, Engineer, NARA Space and Security Management
A review of NARA's new standards for Permanent Records Storage and Presidential Libraries.

High-Density, Cool Temperature Storage at the Library of Congress (LC)
by Doris A. Hamburg, Head, Preventive Conservation, LC
by Steven J. Herman, Chief, Collections Management, LC
Development and assessment of the preservation and access considerations for storing library materials in a high-density, cool temperature depository.

Adaptation of Underground Space
by Tom Benjamin, Vice President - Business Development, National Underground Storage, Inc.
An examination of the opportunities and challenges of keeping paper, film, and magnetic media in underground facilities.

The Realistic Preservation Environment
Ernest Conrad, P.E., President, Landmark Facilities Group
How small institutions can achieve proper environmental conditions for the storage of documents and books.

Building a Small Cold Storage Vault
by Robin Siegel, Conservator, National Geographic Society
A case study of a contractor-built cold storage vault within an existing structure.

Special Challenges - Fire and Fire Suppression
by Tom Goonan, President, Tom Goonan Associates
Warnings regarding the use of space not originally designed for the storage of archival and library materials.


Northern States Conservation Center
NSCC Environment page

Dale Peters
Our Environment Ruined? Environmental Control Reconsidered as a Strategy for Conservation, JCMS, May 1996

Purafil
Environmental Control for Museums, Libraries and Archival Storage Areas
Fergus Read
Preventive Conservation

Donald K. Sebera
Isoperms--An Environmental Management Tool

Smithsonian. Museum Conservation Institute
Marion Mecklenburg & Julio del Hoyo
Interpreting Delta E*


Christoph Waller
Didaktik zur Pr�ventiven Konservierung

Articles (in German) include:

Der Einfluss von Luftfeuchtigkeit und Temperatur auf die Erhaltung von Kulturgut, The influence of air humidity and temperature on the preservation of cultural property (in German)
How to use ART SORB for the Preservation of Art Klima im Gebäude, Climate in Museum Buildings (in German)
Klimatisierung von Vitrinen und Depotschränken in der Praxis, Air conditioning of showcases and display cabinets in practice (in German)
Materialien und Geräte zur Klimatisierung von Vitrinen und Depotschränken, Materials and devices for air conditioning of showcases and display cabinets (in German)

Temperature and Relative Humidity Guidelines

Work of Smithsonian Scientists Revises Guidelines for Climate Control in Museums and Archives, Press release, Smithsonian Institution, Aug. 21, 1994.
This document spurred an enormous amount of discussion. Much of the following work refers to this press release.

Ellen McCrady
Temperature & RH Guidelines Challenged by Smithsonian: Comments and Editorial, Abbey Newsletter, Volume 18, Number 4-5 Aug-Sep 1994

William Schultz
CAL scientists revise guidelines for museum climate control
Allowable RH Fluctuations

William A. Real
Thoughts on CAL Press Release on Climate Control

Gustav A. Berger and William H. Russell
Letter to the Editor--WN Jan 1996

Charles S. Tumosa, Marion F. Mecklenburg, David Erhardt, and Mark H. McCormick-Goodhart
A Discussion of Research on the Effects of Temperature and Relative Humidity on Museum Objects, WAAC Newsletter 18-3, Volume 18, Number 3, September 1996

Barbara Appelbaum
Comments from a Conservator on Climate Control, WAAC Newsletter 18-3, Volume 18, Number 3, September 1996

Steven Weintraub
Revisiting the RH Battlefield: Analysis of Risk and Cost, WAAC Newsletter 18-3, Volume 18, Number 3, September 1996

CAL
Smithsonian Conference on Collections Environment, Abbey Newsletter, Volume 20, Number 3 Aug 1996


Light and lighting

LEDs and Solid State Lighting (SSL)

U.S. Department of Energy
LED Lifetime in Practice - The ETAP Approach
Guide to Evaluating LED Lumen Maintenance
LED Luminaire Reliability
Lifetime of White LEDs

Microclimates, exhibit cases, etc.

Julie Creahan
Controlling Relative Humidity with Saturated Calcium Nitrate Solutions

Julie Creahan, Garry Thomson, Eric F. Hansen
Update and Feedback: Controlling Relative Humidity with Saturated Calcium Nitrate Solutions: Follow-Up Report: Calcium Nitrate Solutions for RH Control

Dennis Piechota
Humidity Control in Cases: Buffered Silica Gel versus Saturated Salt Solutions

Mary Todd Glaser, Steven Weintraub, and Ellen Marlatt
Bill of Rights Goes to Spain

Resources at other sites

Caroline Alderson
HVAC upgrades in historic buildings, Technical Preservation Guidelines, Center for Historic Buildings Office of the Chief Architect Public Buildings Service, U.S. General Services Administration, April 2009

"Effective coordination between preservation, sustainability, architecture, and engineering disciplines helps to ensure that preservation issues are appropriately addressed in design scopes of work and construction budgets. GSA Regional Historic Preservation Officers and preservation program staff are available to assist project teams in tailoring preservation scopes of work and exploring appropriate options. All HVAC upgrades in historic buildings require RHPO review, beginning early in project planning, to ensure that preservation compliance requirements are met for timely project completion. Making the most of a building's original, passive climate control features can reduce system requirements and the impact of the installation on historically significant spaces. GSA's P100 Facilities Standards include detailed guidance for integrating HVAC sensitively into historic buildings. GSA Building Preservation Plans (BPP) and Historic Structure Reports (HSR) identify significant spaces and ornamental features that may be concealed by alterations which should be removed so that compromised public spaces can be restored. Sensitively installing ductwork in buildings designed to accommodate only heating and natural ventilation presents one of the greatest challenges involved in upgrading historic buildings to meet current codes and comfort standards. Fan coil units are a popular choice for historic buildings because they can be easily exchanged for radiators and because pipes are smaller and less intrusive than the ducting required for forced air systems. Using ducts to meeting ventilation requirements only enables use of smaller ducts than would be required to meet both ventilation and temperature conditioning requirements. Thoughtful routing, configuration and concealment of ductwork plays a major role in the aesthetic success of HVAC retrofitting projects at historic buildings. Flatten ductwork or create architecturally integrated false beams to route ducts across corridors and large spaces. Vertical routing is often the best solution for preserving vaulted ceilings where little or no space is available above the ceiling. In some locations, well designed, exposed ductwork is the only practical option for keeping vaulted ceilings and ornamental details exposed to view."


Paul N. Banks
What Makes Records Deteriorate

Hassan Bolourchi
Which type of air cleaner is good for libraries?:w
Pay Attention to Books' Deadly Dust: Relationship of Lung Cancer and Heart Attack to Library Books' Dust

Museum & Library HVAC Air Cleaning Guide HVAC Indoor Air Quality Control For Archived Collections, by Richard Carrow (Danforth Air Filtration & Air Purification, Buffalo, NY
Centre for Sustainable Heritage (CSH)
IMPACT software

"IMPACT is a simple-to-use modelling tool to enable you to estimate the concentration of the reactive air pollutants nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulphur dioxide inside buildings. It is a steady state-model that calculates the average long-term concentration of pollutants using a mass balance equation. The IMPACT software was developed in the European Commission FP5 Research Project Innovative Modelling of Museum Pollutants and Conservation Thresholds."


M. George Craford, Nick Holonyak Jr. , and Frederick A. Kish, Jr.
, Scientific American, Feb. 2001.

Pamela J. Davis
Molds, Toxic Molds, and Indoor Air Quality CRB Note, vol. 8, num 1, March 2001. California Research Bureau. California State Library. Prepared at the Request of Assemblymember Alan Lowenthal No. 1 ISBN: 1-58703-133-7

Doerner Institut
Doerner Institut

See especially Climate for Collections: Standards and Uncertainties, Postprints of the Munich Climate Conference, 07-09/11/2012 Edited by Jonathan Ashley-Smith, Andreas Burmester and Melanie Eibl, 2013.
Stable is safe. The Munich Position on Climate and Cultural Heritage, Andreas Burmester and Melanie Eibl
Climate for Culture Vlatka Rajcic, Parliament Magazine, Issue 373, p.7


Kenneth M. Elovitz
Understanding What Humidity Does and Why

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effectiveness and Health Consequences

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
FTC Seeks Civil Penalties Against Ozone-Generator Firm over Air Cleaning in Violation of Prior Order

Gigahertz Optik GmbH
Tutorials

Topics include


Indoor Air Quality in Museums and Archives (IAQ)
An on-line calculator for conversion between the gas concentration units ppb and mg/m3.

Dan Int-Hout and Lean Kostra
Air Distribution for Large Spaces

Clyde Delmar Kestner
HVAC at 18th-Century Colonial Williamsburg

Lyrasis
Environmental Specifications for the Storage of Library & Archival Materials

William P. Lulli
Everything Old is New Again: What Works, What Does Not Work, From Gray Areas to Green Areas: Developing Sustainable Practices, in Preservation Environments, 2007, Symposium Proceedings, edited by Melissa Tedone.

Practical Solutions for Carriage Storage: The Stony Brook Shed Project, paper presented at the 2000 Annual Meeting of American Institute for Conservation, with Ms. Merri Ferrell, Curator of Carriages, Museums at Stony Brook and with Jonathan Taggart, Taggart Conservation.

"Recent Experiences with Corrosion Control Coupons, poster paper presented at the 1995 annual meeting of American Institute for Conservation, with Ms. Hilary Kaplan, Conservator, Georgia Archives.

Recent Planning Experience in Balancing Collection and Building Preservation Needs: Improvements to the Mercer Museum, paper presented at the 1993 annual meeting of American Institute for Conservation.

Article: Gaseous and particulate filtration for the Pinkney House at the Kern County Museum Objects Specialty Group Postprints
The Conservation Environment at the WH Mathers Museum: A Long-Term Path to Success, paper presented at the 1990 annual meeting of American Institute for Conservation, with Ms. Judith Sylvester, Conservator, WH Mathers Museum.

Building Preservation Needs: Improvements to the Mercer Museum
Humidity and the new Carriage Museum at the Museums at Stony Brook, paper presented at the 1990 annual meeting of American Institute for Conservation, with Ms. Merri Ferrell, Curator of Carriages, Museums at Stony Brook.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Outgassing Data for Selecting Spacecraft Materials Online

A searchable database of outgassing data of materials intended for spacecraft. Includes data on maximum total mass loss (TML) maximum collected volatile condensable material (CVCM). Categories: adhesives, cable insulation and shrink tubing, conformal coating, electrical components, electrical shields, films and sheet materials, foams, greases and lubricants, lacing tape and cord cable ties, laminates and circuit boards, marking materials and inks, miscellaneous, molding compounds, paints, lacquers, and varnishes, potting compounds, rubber and elastomers, tapes, thermal greases

National Gallery, London
Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) Curves

"Comparing Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) curves: This web site has been set up to allow users to examine and compare the Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) curves of a number of different light sources and begin to discuss the relative proportions of these SPDs. The curves and relative proportions can been seen here and here or acessed via the appropriate links at the top of the page. Further details, including descriptions of the equipment and calculations used, along with additional links can be found on the information page. If you would like to contribute data to this project or would like to recommend other sources of information please contact Joseph Padfield."


Marion F. Mecklinburg and Charles S. Tumosa
Temperature and Relative Humidty Effects on the Mechanical and Chemical Stability of Collectors

CNR - ISAC
Microclimate Research Unit, National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
Microclimate for Cultural Heritage, includes information about the work of the MRU (including bibliographic citations)

Sharon C. Park
HVAC for Historic Buildings ASHRAE Journal, April 1999

"Effective coordination between preservation, sustainability, architecture, and engineering disciplines helps to ensure that preservation issues are appropriately addressed in design scopes of work and construction budgets. GSA Regional Historic Preservation Officers and preservation program staff are available to assist project teams in tailoring preservation scopes of work and exploring appropriate options. All HVAC upgrades in historic buildings require RHPO review, beginning early in project planning, to ensure that preservation compliance requirements are met for timely project completion. Making the most of a building's original, passive climate control features can reduce system requirements and the impact of the installation on historically significant spaces. GSA's P100 Facilities Standards include detailed guidance for integrating HVAC sensitively into historic buildings. GSA Building Preservation Plans (BPP) and Historic Structure Reports (HSR) identify significant spaces and ornamental features that may be concealed by alterations which should be removed so that compromised public spaces can be restored. Sensitively installing ductwork in buildings designed to accommodate only heating and natural ventilation presents one of the greatest challenges involved in upgrading historic buildings to meet current codes and comfort standards. Fan coil units are a popular choice for historic buildings because they can be easily exchanged for radiators and because pipes are smaller and less intrusive than the ducting required for forced air systems. Using ducts to meeting ventilation requirements only enables use of smaller ducts than would be required to meet both ventilation and temperature conditioning requirements. Thoughtful routing, configuration and concealment of ductwork plays a major role in the aesthetic success of HVAC retrofitting projects at historic buildings. Flatten ductwork or create architecturally integrated false beams to route ducts across corridors and large spaces. Vertical routing is often the best solution for preserving vaulted ceilings where little or no space is available above the ceiling. In some locations, well designed, exposed ductwork is the only practical option for keeping vaulted ceilings and ornamental details exposed to view."


Timothy J. Robinson and Alan E. Ouellet
Filters and Filtration

Morten Ryhl-Svendsen
Bibliography. Bibliography on indoor air pollution, detection methods, material deterioration, mitigation methods, case stories, etc., most of it in regard to indoor climate in museums/archives.

Brug af gode/dårlige materialer i udstillingsopbygning, from the annual meeting of Dansk Kulturhistorisk Museumsforening, 1997, (in Danish)

An Introduction to the Factors which Deteriorates Photographic Materials, and to Basic Preventive Conservation, from a West African Museum Programme Seminar, Senegal, 1999

Også kulturen kan få åndenød, from DANVAK Årsskrift 1999 (in Danish)

Pollution in the photographic archive - a practical approach to the problem, from the 9th international IADA Congress at The Royal Library, Copenhagen 1999

A review of methods to test construction materials, housing materials, etc., before use near museum objects or archival materials, April 11th, 2000.

A short selected list of literature. "Introducing the subject of indoor air pollution and its effect on museum objects."

Kevan Shaw
Museum Lighting in the Second Decade of the 21st Century

Jean Tétreault
Display Materials: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, From "Exhibitions and Conservation", Pre-prints of the Conference held at The Royal College of Physicans, Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration (SSCR), Edinburg, 1994
Repaint, repaint, and thin no more!--or Classification of coatings and Summary of coating recommendations

Barbara Vogt
Stability Issuesand Test Methods for Ink Jet Materials Thesis, Department of Image Engineering, University of Applied Science, Cologne, May 2001.

Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc.
The Cold Storage of Photographic Collections Using Conventional Freezer Technology (presentation slides)
by Mark McCormick-Goodhart, Vice President, Old Town Editions, Inc.

A presentation of innovative techniques utilizing microclimate packages and the sealed cabinet approach.


On the Cold Storage of Photographic Materials in a Conventional Freezer Using the Critical Moisture Indicator (CMI) Packaging Method By Mark McCormick-Goodhart

Cold Storage
Includes Mark McCormick-Goodhart's "The Cold Storage of Photographic Collections Using Conventional Freezer Storage", 14th Annual National Archives and Record Administration Preservation Conference: Alternative Archival Facilities, National Archives in Washington, D.C, March 25, 1999.

U.S. Department of Energy

The Department of Energy supports a program entitled the Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting (CALiPER) program. This site has a wealth of information on it, not all of which is equally easy to locate. The following links will help in finding further information on solid-state lighting (SSL). --Jim Druzik

CALiPER Program
CALiPER's Searchable Database
CALiPER Benchmark Reports
In particular: The most recent Round 9 Caliper report (long term testing/Reliability)
Color Rendering Index and LEDs
Color Quality of White LEDs
Lifetime of White LEDs
Lifetime of White LEDs (PDF)
LED Luminaire Reliability
Understanding Photometric Reports for SSL Products
Energy Star Criteria for SSL
DOE GATEWAY Demonstration Reports
Next Generation Luminaires--Design competition winners
CALiPER Testing Laboratories

University of California
California Weather Databases

The UC IPM California daily weather database stores both current and historical daily weather data for approximately 350 weather stations throughout California. The PestCast research weather database stores recent, detailed weather data collected in conjunction with the PestCast pest model research and validation project.


University of Minnesota Environmental Health & Safety
Mycological Aspects of Indoor Environmental Quality

Andrea Wise, Caitlin Granowski and Belinda Gourley
Out of the box: measuring microclimates in Australian-made Solander boxes

Abstract: The National Gallery of Australia has over 80,000 works of art on paper and photographs, the majority of which are stored in Solander boxes. For some years there have been concerns relating to the stability of the construction materials used for these enclosures, and the quality of the microclimates created within. A preliminary study on a range of Solander boxes was undertaken to determine whether harmful levels of gaseous pollutants were prevalent within the boxes used at the National Gallery of Australia. This paper will outline the initial results and analytical methods employed to detect harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), using passive air samplers in conjunction with a nitrous oxide monitor used to measure the air exchange rate



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