Relative humidity control in microenvironments

Caroline Gilderson-Duwe <c5d [at] gml__lib__uwm__edu> writes:

>How can I safely, accurately and consistently increase the humidity
>in our display cases?

The Adler Planetarium recently installed a 3500 sq. ft. exhibit of
individually climate-controlled exhibit cases.  This was necessary
because of a lack of humidity control in the exhibit galleries, and,
as you know, the Midwest has quite a seasonal variation in RH.

There are two routes to go when making a decision to control the
display environment--active vs. passive--and both have pros & cons.
The options are:

    *   Active T/RH Control
        *   Micro Climate Generator
        *   Arten Silica Gel Reconditioning System (from Art
            Preservation, NY)
        *   Kennedy-Trimnell units (as installed in Field Museum,
            Chicago)

    *   Passive T/RH Control
        *   Silica Gel
            *   Standard Silica
            *   Art-Sorb
            *   Arten
      *     Cotton batting
      *     Other Buffers

If you wish to maintain a high RH, you can use the Arten silica,
which is a special formulation that can be conditioned to the
desired RH, versus standard silica, which is used to maintain low
RH.

The Midwest Registrars Committee is sponsoring a session on just
this topic on Oct. 31 at the Midwest Museums Conference Meeting in
Lansing, MI.  We'll have comments from a conservator, an exhibit
designer, and a collections manager.  Feel free to contact me if you
have additional questions or ideas for specific things you'd like to
see addressed in the session. Best of luck,

Kate Desulis
Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum
1300 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
312-322-0821
Fax: 312-322-2257

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:9
                   Distributed: Friday, July 12, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-10-9-002
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