Collections Care: Environmental Monitoring

It may seem overwhelming at times—especially on a limited budget—to provide ideal levels of light, temperature, and humidity for the various collections in our care. To make matters worse, certain types of materials or collections have environmental requirements that may make humans slightly uncomfortable at best or are vastly different from other types of collections at worst. Most museums and archives struggle with these issues. Finding a way to balance the needs of the collections with your organization’s budget will most likely result in a solution that is unique to you. General guidelines on collection needs and how to monitor for damage can be found below. 

Basics and Overall Guidance

• Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI): “Agent of Deterioration: Light, Ultraviolet and Infrared” (Stefan Michalski)
• Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts: Collections Environment Infographic
• Image Permanence Institute: “Guide to Sustainable Preservation Practices for Managing Storage Environments”
• National Park Service: Museum Handbook: Chapter 4 “Museum Collections Environment”

Monitoring and Measuring Damage

• Association for Library Collections and Technical Services: “Environmental Monitoring and Control” (video)
• Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI)
  • “Measurement of Ultraviolet Radiation,” CCI Notes 2/2
  • “Tour of the Canadian Conservation Institute’s Online Light Damage Calculator” Webinar (Presenter: Stefan Michalski, Canadian Conservation Institute)
  • “Wireless Environmental Monitoring: Is it Right for You?” Webinar (Presenter: Rachel Perkins Arenstein, A.M. Art Conservation)
  • “Wireless Dataloggers” Webinar (Presenter: Rachel Perkins Arenstein, A.M. Art
• National Park Service
  • “Calibration Of Hygrometers And Hygrothermographs” (Conserve O Gram Series, July 1993, 3/2)
  • “Comparing Temperature and Relative Humidity Dataloggers for Museum Monitoring” (Conserve O Gram Series, September 2011, 3/3)
  • “Using A Psychrometer To Measure Relative Humidity” (Conserve O Gram Series, July 1993, 3/1)

Protecting Collections

• Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI): “Ultraviolet Filters,” CCI Notes 2/1
• Connecting to Collections Care: “Collections Environment: Practical Solutions for Imperfect Places” Webinar (Presenter: Tara Kennedy)
• National Park Service
  • “Choosing UV-Filtering Window Films” (Conserve O Gram Series, August 2004, 3/10)
  • “Creating A Microclimate Box for Metal Storage” (Conserve O Gram Series, September 2011, 4/16)
  • “Creating A Microclimate For Oversized Museum Objects” (Conserve O Gram Series, July 1993, 4/4)
  • “Selecting Carpets And Floor Coverings For Exhibit Galleries And Visitor Centers” (Conserve O Gram Series, June 2001, 1/11)
  • “Using Silica Gel in Microenvironments” (Conserve O Gram Series, September 1999, 1/8)