I should greatly appreciate help from any list members familiar with the problems raised by the following: Our new museum is going to be leasing newly-built storage space while the building we are acquiring for our new museum is under renovation. The storage space is on the ground floor. The flooring is concrete. We plan to store our art library (approx. 20,000 vols), paintings and works on paper there. For this purpose, we plan to set-up shelving units to store all of the items which will be in crates, boxes, etc. A colleague just informed me that the concrete floors will tend to absorb large amounts of moisture, and that nothing sensitive should be placed/stored directly on the floor. This remark raised a concern that the moisture might even affect the items stored up on the shelving units. My question to the members of the list is: Will concrete floors (the supposed moisture they absorb) pose a threat to books, works on paper or even paintings if those items are stored up on the shelves? Are there any special steps that would need to be taken? Do we need to cover the floors?-- Again, I want to mention that the space is all on the ground floor, i.e. above grade, but the concrete is (I assume) laid over the ground. Is the moisture absorbed from the ground below, or the air above, the concrete floor? Or have I been altogether misinformed about concrete floors absorbing moisture? Mark >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mark Ast, Ph.D. Curator Museum & Library of Barbizon & Pre-Impressionist Art The Schlesinger Foundation email: Mark Ast <[log in to unmask]> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>