Rachel,

taking some details from your former posting, you said: You are museum director of a small-town museum in Oklahoma which runs storage rooms where there is no a/c, humidity control, and mold in the building. Your museum uses black-out shades while not a single window has UV protection. Some rooms have fluorescent lights installed. In addition to these circumstances, one volunteer draws up the shade to work under better light conditions.

As you seem to know museum standards, this scenario sounds like a lot of work. As the museum director, you are the one who is on duty to introduce museum standards to your museum. These standards are made to conservate objects and respect the needs of all the museum personnel.

The shades/Venetian blinds are better than nothing. But they solve only minor problems. Look at the problem fro a different angle.

My personal advice would be:

1) Have a look for different safe storage room(s) without mold, with dark rooms,  and with climate control.
2) Listen to conservators with ref. to UV protection: sunlight can be dangerous, but also most kinds of electric lights. Learn which materials are endangered, which not.
3) Create a "treasury room" (dark room) for objects to be protected from UV (in both exhibition space and storage rooms). To illuminate the objects use photoelectric barriers, dimmers and modern LEDs.
4) Take a look at the material of all your objects and separate them in light-sensitive classes. Show light sensitive objects in darker or dark rooms. Make an exchange list for endangered objects. Find a solution to prevent visitors using flashlights in darker or dark rooms.

5) Respect the volunteer's wish to work under normal conditions. Ask a conservator how to handle this particular problem.

Best

Christian

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Thank you all for helping me with my earlier question about pianos and organs.

I do have another question that I hope you can help me with:

Windows (with direct sunlight/no shading, blinds, or film), windows (with just shading like black-out shades), windows (with only UV film, as in, the inexpensive film from Walmart) - which is best?

I know with out a doubt that direct sunlight is not; however, which of the last two options is best? I am asking because right now in my museum we have windows with black-out shades. Unfortunately, I keep walking in and finding a few have been drawn up from a docent that volunteers there. I have repeatedly explained why direct sunlight is harmful, but this volunteer keeps asking why we can't add the UV film and *then* have the shades drawn. (Not a single window has the UV protection in the building, but most do have the shades). This volunteer also complains that it is too dark - when I have checked the lighting meter, and it is too much direct light even with the florescent lights we have. I, honestly, do not want the film and have the shades drawn up - I personally love the shades. But I am trying to do the right thing by following museum standards/procedures.

What is the best option we have as for lighting?

Thank you so much for all your help!
-Rachel Whitney

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