And, furthering Erica's comments about consistency, the winter/summer
humidity level targets would vary depending on the climate that you are
in.  The chart provided by Michael Dunn sounds more like the ideal for a
eastern US climate (humid summers, dry winters) than the west where we
have dry summers and damp winters.  The idea being to minimize
fluctuation and to modify the natural climate to an acceptable level as
the most energy efficient and most sensible in terms of artifacts which
might move in or out of the museum during a particular season so they
are not subjected to dramatic changes of humidity.

I once noticed in my reading that an east coast authour had refuted some
standards that came out of England. After looked at both books and
thought about it, I realized that what which was ideal in England
probably did not fit an Eastern US climate, it was perfect for the
Pacific Northwest!

Just a reminder not to look for absolutes without understanding the
underlying premise or rationale rather than the idea of a single source
about what is 'correct', and to people who publish about climate control
matters to remember that we all don't live in their climate!

Lucy Skjelstad
Corvallis, Oregon

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