You might want to contact some of the people on the conservation
distribution list, or search their archives at
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/.

The page itself is a good resource for anything related to conservation.

Angela Steinmetz
Assistant to the Director of Registration
University of Denver
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-----Original Message-----
From: Rebecca Snetselaar <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, May 21, 1998 5:59 AM
Subject: off-gassing


>Can anyone refer me to a resource for learning more about OFF-GASSING of
>particle board used as shelving for museum collections? Read on.
>I work in a rural County museum where the storage area was a mess when I
>started three years ago. Working with a meager budget, I have managed to
>organize the storage area by purchasing several PENCO rivet-rite
>shelving units each year. Many of the units were ordered with box
>supports, and artifacts stored in archival boxes. However I have one
>unit where "long and skinny" artifacts are stored horizontally on
>particle board shelves which I have covered with sheets of foam, and
>other shelving units for oversized, un-boxed stuff that also have
>particle board shelves. When we have used particle board for the shelf
>surface, we have sealed it with a resin sealer and placed a layer of
>foam between the wood and the artifacts. The long term goal is to
>eventually replace the particle board with steel wire shelving. My more
>immediate goals are 1) to organize storage so that I can find objects
>(what does "Open Storage mean? try spending half a day looking), and
>monitor for pest activity in an organized and scheduled fashion; and 2)
>to get everything up off the floor so that the storage area can be
>cleaned on a regular basis, and for IPM considerations.
>
>Given my limited budget, I can either 1) organize storage and implement
>an intergrated pest management which includes regular cleaning of
>storage areas and monitoring for insect activity (and there is insect
>activity!); or 2)let the stuff stack, sit on the floor, collect dust or
>whatever and only purchase new shelving units when I can afford the wire
>racks to go with them.
>In the past 3 years I have acquired enough shelving units to allow me to
>get almost everything into organized storage. I have also been able to
>reconfigure the units to line up so that this year I'll be able to tie
>them all together across the tops and up to the beams so that they don't
>all fall over when we have the next big earthquake (I've also purchased
>glow-in-the-dark tape to mark exit routes down all corridors in case of
>power failure - there is absolutely no light back there when the
>electricity goes).
>All things considered, I think the particle board is less of a risk to
>artifacts in the short term than the potential for damage from insects,
>earthquakes, and disorganization. However my superior wants me to write
>a paper justifying my request for another shelving unit (this one would
>be 12 feet long and 10 feet high, for storing 20 32" x 42" archival
>boxes which contain a huge collection of aerial photos of the county
>where we are situated - Currently these boxes are stacked 7 deep on the
>floor in the area where I hope the shelving unit will someday sit. There
>is no place else to put them and the access to the photos stinks).
>Please reply direct to my e-mail -- [log in to unmask] - would be
>interested in hearing from other curatorial personnel regarding this
>issue. Thanks!
>Rebecca Snetselaar, Curator of Collections