Cold storage

James Elwing <jamese [at] phm__gov__au> writes

>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. ...

At the Royal Library in Denmark we recently built a new repository
for books with an annual average temperature at 12 deg. C.  The
temperature set point is changed slowly from 8 deg. C in winter to
16 deg. C in summer to save energy.  This building also contains a
photographic storage unit at 2 deg. C.  Marie Vest and Ulla Kejser
presented the project at the ICOM 15th Triennial Conference New
Delhi; "New long-term storage facilities at the Royal library,
Denmark: storage requirements for mixed collections", p 808-815.

The library holds a lot of ephemeral acidic papers and a national
working group dealing with the preservation of this material have
chosen to opt for cold storage (about 5 deg. C) rather than
prolonging useful lifetime by mass deacidification.  You can read
more about this in the article "Cold storage as opposed to mass
deacidification" presented at the conference Incredible Industry In
Copenhagen, 2009, p. 81-89. Available from:

  <URL:http://www.nkf-dk.dk/Bulletin/NKF-Incredible-industry09.pdf>

Birgit Vinther Hansen
Conservator
The Royal Library
Preservation Department
PO Box 2149
DK- 1016 Copenhagen K


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:25
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