I was once told by a conservator that keeping historic houses at a decent
temperature and humidity is often futile or difficult at best. Many artworks
and artifacts are often stored at lower temperatures to slow their decay, so
it seems like a few degrees lower isn't going to hurt.

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Charlie Knight
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 9:18 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Temperature

I have a question regarding keeping a constant temperature/RH in exhibit
areas. Our main museum is housed in a mid-19th century Court House (2
floors) and currently we keep the temperature between 68-72, usually right
at 70, although some galleries run much higher temps than others. However,
we have been instructed by our Dept Head (we are a City bureau) to reduce
our energy consumption to cut our costs - obviously lights can be turned off
when we're not open, but the temperature controls must remain on for the
welfare of the artifacts on exhibit. So my question is would there be any
harm in lowering our temperature by two (2) degrees, for a target range of
66-70?

Charlie Knight
MacArthur Memorial

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).