Shelving

Sue Dunlap <sdunlap [at] acs__wooster__edu> writes

>I was wondering if someone can point me to some information about
>wooden vs. metal shelving.

The technical leaflet titled "Storage Furniture: A Brief Review of
Current Options," by Sherelyn Ogden, is available through the NEDCC
web site at <URL:http://www.nedcc.org/tleaf42.htm>.  It explains
materials and finishes used for collections storage, lists several
articles for further research, and includes a few furniture
suppliers.

As for wood, briefly stated:

   "Although the levels of emissions are highest initially, in most
    cases volatiles are present for the life of the materials. To
    avoid potential damage to collections, the use of storage
    furniture made of wood or wood products should be avoided. If
    this is not possible and wood must be used, precautions are
    necessary. Certain woods and wood composites are more
    potentially damaging than others. For example, oak, which has
    been used extensively for the storage of library and archival
    materials, is considered the wood with the most volatile acidity
    and should not be used. Also, many wood composites that are
    advertised as formaldehyde-free may contain potentially damaging
    acids or other aldehydes."

Karen E.K. Brown
Field Service Representative
Northeast Document Conservation Center
100 Brickstone Square
Andover, MA  01810-1494
kebrown [at] nedcc__org
978-470-1010
Fax 978-475-6021

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:84
                   Distributed: Tuesday, May 4, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-84-003
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