The building is quite large with one large grand gallery, 3 changing galleries, large collection storage, and another smaller educational gallery. I do not know what materials have been chosen for the building as construction was well under way by the time I came on board. I am concerned because the board wants to open the museum on a specific date and with a construction timeline set, they want to save the needed time by bringing the collection back as quickly as possible. The curator and I are trying to find a way to show the board that the off-gassing period is absolutely vital and cannot be a place to make up missed time. I have had a hard time finding defintive information to bring to them and all of your suggestions have been great. Emily On 10/31/06, David Harvey <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Emily, > > Two months sounds like a good shakedown period for a newly constructed > building. You also need to run the HVAC system for that long while > monitoring the temp and Rh to make sure that you will have a stable > environment for the collection to return to. Also, be sure to check > your fire supression pipes for signs of oil dripping - that became a > major issue at one intstituion that had a newly constructed > collections and conservation building - as the dry pipe joints had > threading oil that was forced out and dripped on anything underneath - > and I've also seen that same thing in other collections areas. So > monitoring everything in a new building is a good idea before actually > getting collections into potential problems that can be fixed. > > The how long question can be highly variable becuase it entirely > depends on the nature of the materials that went into the building. If > low VOC materials were specified and many things such as adhesives and > carpets etc. were tested or reviewed by a conservator, then you might > be in good shape. If the materials were chosen outside of professional > staff review then it make take a good long time for all outgassing to > diminish. I'd first make sure that anything in intimate contact with > objects (shelves for example) or in their immediate environment be > "safe" and the general outgassing of the builing itself can be managed > by good air exchange and circulation. > > There are some ways of testing areas for pollutants, and the low cost > method is to use metal coupons sold by providers such as Purafil. You > have to know what you are doing with these things and be precise in > following the instructions - and since these are developed for > sensitive electronics the corrosion standards are not in line with > museum conservation standards. A great book to reference is the book > by my colleague Pamela Hartchfield that wsa published by Archetype > Books I believe some few years ago on the effects of pollution on > musuem collections. Here is the info on it: > ____________________________________________________________ > Pollutants in the Museum Environment > Practical Strategies for Design, Exhibition, Storage > Pamela B. Hatchfield > The environment in which artifacts are housed continually acts on > them: it can alter them chemically, accelerate the ageing process or > provide the benign climate that minimizes the potential for damage; it > can make the difference between destruction and preservation. > Preventive conservation has therefore become a primary focus in the > care of collections today, and in this volume, Pamela Hatchfield > (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) provides a rich resource of information > on the subject. From the contents: Sources of Pollutants, Damage to > Materials, Testing for Pollutants, Mitigation of Pollutants, > Materials, Protection in Enclosures. Also appendixes on common > measurements, plastics, product stability, materials and sources. An > Archetype Publication. > > 203 pages, 8 1/2 x 11", many illustrations, paperback $ 58.50 > ___________________________________________________________________ > > > Cheers! > Dave > > David Harvey > Conservator > Los Angeles, California > > ========================================================= > 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). > -- Emily Spallina Registrar The Arkell Museum at Canajoharie 518-673-2314 ========================================================= 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).