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 - STEWART, William J.: Summary of Discussions
286 William J. Stewart Duchein: Now, it is the last occasion I shall speak in front of you, so for the first and last time, I shall speak French and tell you all: «Merci, bon voyage et au revoir.» I now declare the last session of this seminar closed. ANNEX I Recommendations The experts and observers participating in the Seminar of Archive Buildings and the Conservation of Archival Materials held in Vienna from 30 October to 1 November 1985 having considered the following problems: the importance of ensuring the preservation of archives as part of the cultural heritage of mankind, the increasing environmental dangers to the preservation of archives, both in the industrialized countries and in the third world, the limited resources which are available in most countries to deal with these problems, the need to respond to rapid technological changes, unanimously recommend to the Executive Committee of the International Council on Archives: 1. That, in close co-operation with the Committee on Conservation and Restoration of ICA and other relevant ICA bodies, consideration be given to ways of establishing permanent means for co-ordinating and disseminating information about developments in archive buildings. 2. That closer co-operation be established between ICA, IFLA, IRMC and the International Union of Architects, in the field of archive buildings. 3. That steps be taken to call the attention of the national and international authorities to the necessity to issue and to regularly up-date standardized guidelines for the construction of archive buildings, including the adaptation of ancient buildings. Such guidelines to be issued in co-operation with the archival authorities. 4. That UNESCO be invited to commission a RAMP study on fire protection in archive buildings. 5. That UNESCO be invited to commission a RAMP study on economical methods to achieve stable environmental conditions in archive repositories in industrialized and tropical countries. 6. That the Committee on Conservation and Restoration of ICA and other relevant ICA bodies consider the storage and conservation of large-sized documents. The participants express their gratitude to UNESCO for its support for the seminar and extend their warmest thanks to the Government of the Republic of Austria and to the Austrian State Archives for their outstanding hospitality and for the excellent preparation and conduct of the meeting.
