F_Evidence_4

Assignment due Mar 6 (2-3 pages)

1                    Read the sample environmental report from an academic library before the next class

2                    See how many problems you can identify as you read through the report - it's probably easiest to organize them according to the environmental areas we have discussed before (temperature, rh, light and air quality). It's probably a good idea to create a section called "environmental monitoring" as well to address issues related to the way the data is being collected and recorded

3                    Write a report as if you were the new curator proposing a plan to your director to address the environmental problems identified. Be brief and concise – use bullet points or an outline to organize your report succinctly and clearly identify problems and then solutions to those problems in a way that you feel would be clear to a library director. (hint: they won't want a lot of technical or scientific jargon, just plain speaking, well organized and concise data and proposed solutions)

4                    You will be graded on style as well as substance -- that  the assignment looks more like a professional report than a research paper.

5                    Some solutions to the problems could be very expensive. Suggest alternatives that could be followed in case budgets are limited. (We always want to propose cost saving alternatives to our directors)

6                    Since it's not *really* a professional report (!), do cite your sources!

7                    Ask questions if you feel stymied!! Writing professional reports is a skill that no one is born with -- if you've never done them before, they may feel like an unfamiliar type of format.

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Special Collections HVAC Monitoring Report

Description of the Space

Special Collections is located on the 7^th floor of Smith Library, a large brick building on the edge of campus, facing the city’s busiest street.

The main Special Collections space is a rectangle approximately 60 by 37 feet, with large windows on the north, west, and south sides.  The space is open except for a narrow room (“the vault”) at the north end that houses the most valuable items.  The space is divided into two sections by the service desk and a 4-foot high wall of shelves holding reference books.  The south section is the reading room and the north section is the stacks.  Readers are not allowed in the stacks. Staff offices open into the reading room.  In the basement there is an additional stack space. This area is not open to the public.  The total floor space including all Special Collections areas is 4100 square feet.

Because three walls are exterior, facing north, west, and south, maintaining a stable environment is difficult. Heat always flows toward colder areas and moist air flows toward drier areas unless a building is well-insulated.  Smith Library was built in 1930 and lacks insulation and vapor barriers, meaning that air passes easily through the walls whenever indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidities differ.  With tall windows on three sides, Special Collections is also affected by the position and intensity of the sun on any given day.  All of this profoundly influences the effectiveness of the HVAC system.

HVAC System

Smith Library has a central heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning unit that supplies the entire building. Special Collections receives treated air from the unit through ducts in the ceiling of the 7^th floor. The basement is supplied by the same unit but through a different set of ducts.  

It is the policy of the University to keep the temperature at 70° ± 3° during hours of occupation (in other words, temperature is allowed to range between 67-73°).  The fans are timed to turn off when the building is not in use over weekends and holidays.  

A reheat system is used in winter, along with heated water from the campus powerhouse, to heat and reheat the air that circulates to all areas of Smith Library.  Heating coils are used to heat the air in winter, and chillers are used in summer.  The chillers are turned on at the end of April and turned off in October. Heating coils tend to dry out the air, while chillers can add humidity.  There is no other humidity control in Smith Library.

The central air-handling unit is located above Special Collections on the 8^th floor. It uses a huge cylindrical fan to pull in outside air through an intake vent on the side of the roof that faces the street with its constant vehicle exhaust fumes.  The air is sent from the intake duct through pre-filters in an area insulated with fiberglass for sound and heat reduction.  A vibration isolator connects the fan to the floor and helps to limit noise.  

The air-handling unit has been adjusted to meet OSHA standards for recirculated air, which requires that a minimum of 30% outside air be added to every recirculation.  The new outside air is mixed with recirculated air and passed through a set of secondary filters before being sent into the ducts to circulate to the rooms.

The pre-filters are rated 30% dust spot efficiency for particulates.  The secondary filters are the bag type, which have 80% more surface for air filtration and efficiency, and are the standard found in many libraries.  Both sets of filters are located in a very tight space behind other equipment.  The difficulty of getting to them means that schedules for filter changes are not adhered to, and they are changed only irregularly, when they are so dirty that the air pressure drops. The result is that particulate pollution gets into the ducts.  There is no filtering for gaseous pollutants such as car exhaust, because such filtering systems are extremely expensive and difficult to maintain.

The central HVAC system is not sufficient to keep Special Collections warm in winter and cool in summer, due to the three outside walls.  Separate fan coil units mounted below the windows help heat/cool the room air with a system of fans, filters, and hot or cold water depending on the season. The fan in the bottom of each unit pulls air from the room in through a filter and sends it past a coil that is either heated or chilled by water passing through it.  The treated air is then pushed back into the room from the top of the unit.  The units can be controlled manually by adjusting a dial from cooler to warmer.  The dials are on the end of the units where they can easily be reached by staff and patrons, who frequently adjust them to their personal preferences.

MONITORING

Facilities staff can monitor temperatures from the HVAC equipment room by measuring the air as it enters the ventilation ducts to circulate into the Library.  Their purpose is to keep track of the HVAC system and make sure it is putting out the temperature that has been set.  They do not measure the actual temperature of the rooms in the Library, and frequently the rooms are either warmer or colder than the vent temperature due to the effect of outdoor conditions and changes to the fan coil settings. 

The Preservation Department undertook a one-year project of monitoring on the 7^th floor and the basement to determine the actual levels of temperature, humidity, and light in Special Collections.

Temperature and Humidity

Temperature and humidity were monitored using four digital dataloggers.  Data was recorded every 30 minutes.  Datalogger A was placed in the reading room, datalogger B in the stacks, datalogger C in the vault, and datalogger D in the basement stacks.

Table 1 shows graphs that plot the highest and lowest temperature and RH for each month of the year. The area between dark lines indicates the set levels Facilities intends to maintain:  70° ± 3° F, and 25-50% RH.

Table 2 presents daily high and low readings from the Reading Room from mid-February through mid-April, to demonstrate the amount of daily fluctuations in temperature and RH.  The effect of turning the fans off on weekends is clearly visible in the dips that occur every seven days.

Light Levels

It was important to monitor light levels because of the large windows on three sides of Special Collections. Visible light readings were monitored in five locations around the 7^th floor space: on the western side of the stacks; on the south side of the reading room, on the north side in the vault, in the center of the stacks, and at the desk.  Readings were taken on 10 days during February through April, with the use of an Illumination Level Meter that measured the existing light in foot-candles. The ultraviolet levels were also read in the same locations by a Crawford UV monitor.  Readings were taken between 9 am and 6 pm.  The 10 readings for the same hour for each location were averaged. Table 3 shows the UV readings.  

As expected, the period with the highest UV and visible light levels was between noon and 2 pm.  On many occasions the visible light reading went off the scale, indicating a level of over 500 foot candles. The UV light reached a peak of 370 lumens microwatts per lumen.  Since these readings were taken in the winter and early spring, we can assume that even higher readings would have been recorded in summer, and for a longer period of light each day.

Table 1: Monthly High and Low Temperature and RH readings

Table 3: UV Readings for February through April

Each point represents the average of 10 readings from February through April.

Melissa Townsend-Crow LIBR 259 March 5, 2014

Assignment 2

Problems:

 Building  lacks insulation and vapor barriers

 air passes easily through the walls whenever indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidity differ

 Special Collections is affected by the position and intensity of the sun on any given day

 temperature is allowed to range between 67-73°; fans are timed to turn off when the building is not in use over weekends and holidays

 Heating coils tend to dry out the air; chillers can add humidity. There is no other humidity control in Smith Library.

 air-handling unit filters are located in a very tight space behind other equipment; they are changed only irregularly, when they are so dirty that the air pressure drops

 particulate pollution gets into the ducts; no filtering for gaseous pollutants such as car exhaust (filtering systems are extremely expensive and difficult to maintain)

 temperature is allowed to range between 67-73° during hours of occupation; fans are timed to turn off when the building is not in use over weekends and

holidays; the central HVAC system is not sufficient to keep Special Collections

warm in winter and cool in summer, due to the three outside walls  staff and patron frequently adjust temperature to their personal preferences  Facilities staff do not measure the actual temperature of the rooms in the Library,

and frequently the rooms are either warmer or colder than the vent temperature due to the effect of outdoor conditions and changes to the fan coil settings

Looking at the data, one may conclude that, regardless of type of material, the RH, temperature, UV levels, and petroleum and other particulate levels are not only not conducive to optimum conservation of this collection, they are actually deleterious. Therefore, I would like to make the following suggestions:

 The optimum relative humidity for library/archival books and other paper

materials ≥45%  Optimum temperature ≥65°  The basement should be converted to cold storage and kept at 40° (±5) and RH

35-40%; if nitrate materials are part of this collection, freezers should be employed to store these items in the cold storage (basement) area. According to NEDCC guidelines,"a large commercial freezer which should defrost automatically is a relatively inexpensive cold storage unit. A combination of chemically stable boxes placed in polypropylene bags and then sealed with humidity control cards is a design that works well in preserving photographic materials in cold storage. This allows the stored items to warm at room temperature safely (8–12 hours should be sufficient) and can be easily accessed. The Safe Care® Archive Freezer Kits are available at Hollinger Metal Edge, Inc.

"A low cost set up for storage would provide a controlled environment with the constant temperature at 68° F (20° C), and relative humidity between 20% and 30%. Rapid changes in temperature and humidity will hasten deterioration. A dark and well-ventilated area around the negatives allows gases to dissipate. " (http://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/5.­photographs/5.1-a-short-guide-to-film-base-photographic-materials­identification,-care,-and-duplication)

 Vault should be kept ≤50° and ≤40% RH  Reading room and staff offices can be kept at minimum comfort level with temperatures no higher than 72° and RH no higher than 55%  Reduction of damage caused by UV and aerosol petroleum and other particulates

These changes must be made in order to preserve and conserve the materials in the Special Collection. Since cost is an issue, I propose the following plan until funds can be raised to do more permanent renovations and upgrades to the HVAC:

 Ideally, we want to renovate the building to close off the stacks into a separate, enclosed room with an independent HVAC system from the Reading Room and staff offices. In the meantime, we are researching room dividers, possibly those composed of Parinna (http://electroluxdesignlab.com/en/submission/parinna­spaces-suits-you/) as this material filters air and helps with temperature and  light control, however we have no information yet about cost and availability. Pressed fiberboard is also a possibility in the interim; although not ideal, it is inexpensive and would provide more protection than the open space currently in place.

 RH, temperature, and UV monitoring will continue in each space and measurements recorded at all times of the day. Until the HVAC system can be upgraded, portable humidifiers and de-humidifiers will be employed and the data gathered from monitoring levels of RH will be used to control the level of humidity in each space. Fans will not be turned off even when the building is unoccupied to maintain a consistent temperature in all material storage areas (stacks, vault, and cold storage). Until renovations are possible, temperature will be kept at lower end of comfortable (68°-70°) in the public area, thermostat dials will be set and locked

 The equipment in front of the filters must be moved so that the filters can be more easily changed and as often as necessary

 Either blackout curtains or dark tinted film which filters out UV will be used to cover the all of the windows, starting with those windows in the vault and stacks areas. This will also help to regulate the temperature so the use of the HVAC will be decreased and the initial investment will pay off with the energy saved.

 Custodial and pest control services will be evaluated and, if necessary, new services will be contracted

 In addition to more frequent changes of the filters and the regular custodial service of the space itself, all staff members will be assigned a section of the collection for a material inspection, maintenance, and cleaning schedule. However, this will only happen after appropriate in-service training on the proper conservation methods;  I also propose to contract a conservation team to do the initial cleaning and repair of the materials, as well as to train regular staff members to maintain the conservation efforts.

 Materials will be stored in appropriate protective containers (i.e., acetate sleeves, acid free boxes and folders) to protect them from further damage caused by the petroleum vapors and other particulates which the filters miss

 After the initial conservation effort, I propose to either contract a conservation team annually or hire a conservationist full time to supervise the ongoing preservation and conservation of materials and to train the staff in maintaining the conservation effort

References

Electrolux Design Lab. (n.d.). Electrolux Design Lab PARINNA spaces suits you Comments. Retrieved March 4, 2014, from http://electroluxdesignlab.com/en/submission/parinna-spaces-suits-you/

Holmes, E. (2014, February 20). Unit 5: Environment. LIBR 266: Preservation Management. Lecture conducted from San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science D2L/Panopto.

PhotographsUpdated5.1 A Short Guide to Film Base Photographic Materials: Identification, Care, and Duplication. (n.d.). 5.1 A Short Guide to Film Base Photographic Materials: Identification, Care, and Duplication. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from http://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/5.­photographs/5.1-a-short-guide-to-film-base-photographic-materials­identification,-care,-and-duplication.

Preservation 101 | 5 | Collections Care. (n.d.). Preservation 101 | 5 | Collections Care. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from http://unfacilitated.preservation101.org/session5