Managing the library and archive environment

National Preservation Office Training Day

Wednesday 1 July  2009

British Library Centre for Conservation, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB

This one-day course will help librarians and archivists to understand the effect that a poor environment has on collections, and demonstrate how to monitor and control their storage environment. It is led by Jane Henderson, a well-known expert and trainer from Cardiff University's Department of History and Archaeology, with demonstrations of equipment by Chris Michael, Meaco.

Programme

09.45 Registration
10.00 Introduction and welcome
10.15 How collections get damaged
10.30 Agents of deterioration: the role of moisture and temperature in damaging collections
11.00 Units and targets for relative humidity and temperature 
11.30 Break
11.45 Setting targets for environmental conditions for library and archive materials
12.15 Environmental targets for collections: the building and climate
12.45 Lunch
13.30 Environmental monitoring equipment: range of equipment, how to use it, costs and accuracy
14.30 Matching monitoring equipment to your needs: criteria for selection, choosing locations to monitor, collecting data
15.00 Break
15.15 Interpreting RH and temperature charts
16.15 Action Planning
16.45 End