Cold storage

I am seeking the names of collecting institutions that have
(successfully) embraced genuine cold storage, say 10 deg C or lower,
and certainly below 18 deg C, for a range of materials, as well as
photographic. I want to chase up any evaluations they might have
made, and/or contact them.

Our museum is being forced to take an interest in slowing rates of
deterioration for collection objects because the collection holds so
much modern design material, ephemeral materials and plastics. Apart
from a few frost-free refrigerators for photographic film, however,
our coolest storage environment is in recently constructed general
stores designed to run at 18 deg C.

Despite Stefan Michalski's work on the benefits of colder
temperatures for archives and other collections, the only collection
cold storage I can find in Australia thus far is related only to
photographic cellulose acetate and nitrate.

Without institutional precedents for the use of cold storage,
convincing our planners to commit funding will be difficult.

James Elwing
Conservator, Archives,
Powerhouse Museum,
Sydney,
PO Box K346, Haymarket
NSW 1238, Australia
+61 292170352
Fax: +61 292170498


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:23
                  Distributed: Monday, January 4, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-23-008
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