Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 39. (1986)
Archive Buildings and the Conservation of Archival Material. An Expert Meeting, held in Vienna, Austria October 30 - November 1, 1985 - THOMAS, David: Architectural Design and Technical Equipment for the Physical Protection and Conservation of Documents
Architectural Design and Technical Equipment 241 The system needs careful design to ensure that it does not introduce vapours emitted from the solvent exhaust system in the conservation department. If carbon filters are used, they should be changed regularly or they will cease to be efficient. Care must be taken with maintenance and cleaning. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University found coatings of diethylaminoethanol on their exhibits; the chemical had been introduced to the climate control system to prevent corrosion39). Some archives cannot afford to install or run full air-conditioning. Others may feel that such a system is not a priority as they are located in an area of relatively low air pollution. There are a few simple steps which these institutions can take to reduce the impact of polluted air. Firstly, all material should be boxed or wrapped in acid free paper. There is good evidence from the National Gallery in London that material which is enclosed absorbs less sulphur dioxide and becomes less acidic than material exposed to the air36 37). Secondly, windows in the repository area should be sealed to reduce the direct influx of polluted air; air coming in to the record storage area from other parts of the building will have lost much of its polluting gases as they will have been absorbed on the building surfaces. Finally, the most vulnerable materials, photographs, textiles, works of art and maps should be stored in the centre of the building above ground level where they are furthest from the sources of pollution. 4 The preservation of audio visual materials, including photographs, sound recordings and computer storage systems, presents the same sort of problems as the storage of traditional records, but in a greatly exaggerated form. Increasingly large quantities of these new media are finding their way into archives. In 1982 the Russian Central State Archive of Cinematographic and Photographic Documents was acquiring 3,000 storage units of film and 10,000 photographic documents a year, while the Central State Archive of Sound Recording was acquiring 7,000 units38 39). Like traditional records, audio visual materials tend to break down because of poor manufacturing techniques. The most famous example of this process is the rapid decay of cellulose nitrate based items, particularly films and some sound recording discs produced in the inter war period39). Other types of photographs also exhibit a tendency to self destruet. Early, albumen-based prints tend to discolour because of inherent faults in the process40). The worst problem facing 36) Baer—Banks Indoor Air Pollution 10—11. 37) S. Hackney and G. Hedley Measurements of the ageing of Linen canvas in Studies in Conservation 26 (1981) 1-14. 3S) Oleg Mihajlov and others Audio-visual archives in the USSR in Unesco Journal of Information Science, Librarianship and Archives Administration 6 (1982) 101-102. 39) Baer-Banks Indoor Air Pollution 12—13. ,0) J. M. Reilly The Albumen and Salted Paper Book (Rochester 1980) 101-110. Mitteilungen, Band 39 16
