New guidelines for collection environments

To meet the need for environmental guidelines which are sustainable
while still safeguarding collections, national organisations in the
UK have come together to update existing guidance and develop new
standards. Three related initiatives are under way which will
ultimately lead to a new British Standard covering environments for
all types of collections.

In the absence of alternative guidance, BS 5454:2000, the British
Standard on the storage and exhibition of archival documents, has
been used as a standard for the whole sector, not just for archives.
Scientific understanding of the preservation needs of different
materials has moved on over the past decade, and there has been
increasing recognition that fresh guidance is needed which takes
account of recent research evidence and covers a broader range of
collections.

The wider political and economic context has also changed since BS
5454 was published ten years ago, with a greater emphasis on using
energy responsibly and reducing dependence on fossil fuel. The call
to update current guidance is supported by conservators, curators,
engineers and others concerned to improve the storage of cultural
collections. The National Museum Directors' Conference has issued
Guiding Principles calling on museums "to reconcile the desirability
of long-term preservation of collections with the need to reduce
energy use".

In response to these concerns, the following steps have been taken:

1. New Specification for Environmental Conditions for Cultural
Collections: PAS 198.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has recently begun work on a
new Publicly Available Specification for environmental conditions
(PAS 198), which will cover museum and library as well as archive
collections. It will set out requirements for temperature, relative
humidity, light and pollution for a range of materials, and will
apply to all types of cultural collections in storage, on display
and on loan. PAS 198 is co-sponsored by the Collections Trust;
CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, a division of the Welsh
Assembly Government; the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
(MLA) and The National Archives. It is scheduled to be published in
May 2011. See

    <URL:http://shop.bsigroup.com/pas198>

2. New PD 5454 replacing BS 5454:2000 and its associated guidance PD
0024:2001.

The relevant BSI technical committee (IDT/2/9), which includes a
wide range of bodies concerned with archive and library buildings,
is working on a new Published Document (PD 5454), Guide for the
Storage and Exhibition of Archival Material. This will merge BS 5454
with its accompanying guidance, PD 0024, while also bringing it into
line with current thinking and updating it to reflect recent
statutory changes and related standards. It will continue to include
guidance relating to building construction, security, fire and flood
protection but remains directed to archive and library collections
only. The new PD will be published shortly after PAS 198, and its
related content will be aligned with the PAS.

3. New European Standard being developed by CEN/TC 346.

The development of a new European standard dealing with the
protection of objects in all types of collections is also now in
progress, to be titled Conservation of Cultural Property:  New Sites
and Buildings Intended for the Storage and Use of Collections. It
will take on board the latest thinking on environmental criteria and
update advice on building construction and protection, fire
precautions, storage and packing requirements, modern media and
exhibitions. This work should be completed by 2013/14.

The new PAS and PD will be available for use by those caring for
collections within a relatively short time, providing relevant,
up-to-date reference material. In the longer term, the work on both
will contribute to thinking on the European standard, which will
ultimately become the authoritative new British Standard for all
types of collections.

For further information, please contact:

  On the environmental PAS

    Alex Kay <Alex.Kay_at_bsigroup__com>

  On PD 5454:

    Chris Woods  <conservation<-at->fastmail<.>fm>

    On BSI and the European Standard:

    Stephanie Kosandiak <Stephanie.Kosandiak<-at->bsigroup<.>com>
    or
    David Leigh <dleighpavilion.co.uk>


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:9
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