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Class 5 Lesson Plan
Building-wide Concerns

Resources for the Teacher

General

Amigos Library Services. The Preservation Survey: A First Step in Saving Your Collections (Video). Dallas: Amigos Library Services, 2003.

This video program, which is also useful in preparation for Class 7: Surveys and Assessments, provides visual images of the effects of environmental factors and the equipment used to monitor the factors.

Banks, Paul N., and Roberta Pilette, eds. Preservation: Issues and Planning. Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. Particularly Chapter 7, “Environment and Building Design,” by Paul Banks; and Chapter 10, “Library and Archives Security,” by Richard Strassberg.

This is the key textbook for this class session, providing a preservation management perspective on environmental control and security issues.

Northeast Document Conservation Center. Preservation of Library and Archival Materials. Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2008. Section 2 and Leaflets 9 and 10 in Section 3.

The instructor should review all leaflets in the environmental section of the manual, which can serve as preparatory material, assigned student reading, or handouts for this lesson and Class 7. Discussion of “Protecting Collections During Renovation” and “Integrated Pest Management” are also included in this module, and those leaflets can be assigned as readings or distributed as handouts as well.

Patkus, Beth. Assessing Preservation Needs: A Self-Survey Guide. Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2003. Particularly Sections I–IV.

This manual provides background information and questions that can be used both in this lesson and in the study and practice of surveys in Class 7.

Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn. Preserving Archives and Manuscripts. Society of American Archivists Basic Manual Series. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1993. Particularly Chapters 4 and 5, “Causes of Deterioration” and “Creating a Sympathetic Environment.”

These excerpts from a key text in archival practice provide concise information on the deteriorative effects of environmental factors and how to develop a preservation-friendly environment for your collections.

LYRASIS. Particularly Environmental Specifications for the Storage of Library and Archival Materials, Invasion of the Giant Spore, and Pest Control: A Bibliography.

The instructor should be familiar with all leaflets in the environmental section of SOLINET’s publication series, which can serve as preparatory material, assigned student reading, or handouts for this lesson and Class 7.

Environmental Control

Appelbaum, Barbara. Guide to Environmental Protection of Collections. Madison, Wis.: Sound View Press, 1991.

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

Lull, William P. Conservation Environment Guidelines for Libraries and Archives. Ottawa: Canadian Council of Archives, 1995.

A relatively brief publication, this is a technical reading on environmental control systems and how they work, by a leading consultant, author, and speaker in the field.

Wilson, William K. Environmental Guidelines for the Storage of Paper Records. NISO Technical Report (NISO-TR01-1995). Bethesda, Md.: NISO Press, 1995.

For Further Study

Image Permanence Institute

IPI is the leading institution in environmental control research and development of tools and systems to test environmental levels in cultural heritage institutions. Each student should become familiar with the work of this organization.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Managers. Washington, D.C.: NIOSH, 1991.

A guide to diagnosing and resolving indoor air quality (IAQ) problems. Includes appendixes on measurement of IAQ; HVAC systems and IAQ; and moisture, mold, and mildew.

Fire Protection

Artim, Nick. “An Introduction to Fire Detection, Alarm, and Automatic Fire Sprinklers." In Preservation of Library and Archival Materials. Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2008.

National Fire Protection Association. “NFPA 909: Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties: Museums, Libraries, and Places of Worship.” Quincy, Mass.: NFPA, 2005.

Instructors should be familiar with the work and publications of NFPA and cite this book for standards in the design and protection of fire-safe environments for cultural heritage collections.

Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool: Evaluating the Workplace-Portable Fire Extinguishers.

Mold

Chicora Foundation Web site, Mold section.

SOLINET. “Invasion of the Giant Mold Spore.” Atlanta: SOLINET, 2001.

For Further Study

New York City Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Disease Epidemiology. Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments, November 2000.

United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Indoor Environments Division. Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings. EPA 402-K-01-001, March 2001.

Pest Management

Parker, Thomas A. “Integrated Pest Management.” In Preservation of Library and Archival Materials. Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2008.

Security

Association of College and Research Libraries. Rare Books and Manuscripts Section. (See “Standards and Guidelines” section.) Particularly Guidelines for the Security of Rare Book, Manuscript, and Other Special Collections, and Guidelines Regarding Theft in Libraries.

This is a documented best practice/standard in a part of the field where few absolute guidelines have been established; it can serve as a model for policy development in cultural heritage institutions.

Northeast Document Conservation Center. “Collections Security: Planning and Prevention for Libraries and Archives.” In Preservation of Library and Archival Materials. Andover, Mass.: Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2008.

Trinkaus-Randall, Gregor. Protecting Your Collections: A Manual of Archival Security. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1995.

A full-length publication on archival and overall security practices for cultural heritage institutions, this document can be assigned by chapter or section, as a “special topic” reading for those especially interested in security issues, or as an assignment to read the complete book.