Greetings -- I believe that most of the pros and cons of carpeting in galleries have been addressed to date. However, I would like to add a couple of comments. Re: pest problems. Wool carpeting will of course be prone to attack by protein feeding insects such as carpet beetles and clothes moths. However, because carpeting tends to "hold" stuff (even with good vacuuming and sanitation) that comes off of the visitor's shoes and garments, it becomes even more delicious to the little critters. There if a potential for this to happen with synthetic carpeting. However, pest problems can be heightened by carpeting due to the type of cleaning and maintenance conducted. I has a client a number of years ago that had a serious outbreak of booklice (psocoptera also known as psocids) in their photographic galleries. After much investigation (looking into general conditions, RH and temperature, matting and framing protocols, etc.) I happened to look at my clients maintenance log. Interestingly, the psocid outbreak occurred right after they steam cleaned the carpeting in the gallery. Re: pollutants given off by the carpeting. Wool is a sulfur-bearing material and it can cause damage to silver and other materials. However, one also needs to be careful about the type of adhesive that is used to affix the carpet to the flooring. Many of the adhesives also off-gas solvents and other nasty materials. I realize that this string is already a couple of weeks old, but I hope that this will be of and help. Wendy Claire Jessup President and Conservator Wendy Jessup and Associates, Inc. 210 Little Falls Street, Suite 203 Falls Church, VA 22046 (703) 532-0788 (703) 532-1661 fax