Your building is the first defense for your collections against temperature, humidity, pollutants, light, fire, water, theft, pests, and mold. This session will explore methods for achieving a preservation quality environment within your building. How can you ensure that your building provides the best possible protection for your collections?

Achieving a preservation-quality environment can be confusing and challenging. Are there specific temperature and humidity levels that must be maintained? What if your building's climate control systems cannot achieve them? How should pollutants and light be controlled? What types of fire protection and security systems are best?

The quality of the environment for your collections will depend on your building's design, construction, and systems, as well as on the extent and quality of building maintenance. If financial resources are limited, or administrative and/or facilities personnel are unwilling to make changes, you may wonder whether it is possible to make meaningful improvements.

Addressing these issues may seem overwhelming, but remember that even small steps toward improving your building and environment will benefit your collections.

Learning Objectives

This session will help you:

• explore best practices for environmental control, fire protection, security, pest management, mold protection, and building design and maintenance;
• evaluate your current building systems and storage areas to see how well they are meeting preservation recommendations;
• determine what changes are needed to improve conditions and ensure the long-term preservation of your collections; and
• identify additional resources to help you learn more about building and environmental issues.