n.the physical conditions, especially temperature, humidity, pollution, and air movement, within an enclosed spaceSung, Leonov, and Waters 1990, 312[The Library of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, or the Biblioteka Akademii Nauk (BAN) in Russian] has instead adopted the concept of phased conservation which advocates longer time frames for planning purposes and sequential treatments, the first of which is often the protective housing. BAN’s phased conservation project will begin with fabrication of customized microclimate book containers for some 110,000 damaged volumes from the Baer collection with a computer inventory database being created at the same time.Peters 1996The implications of these findings are cause to reconsider the concept of archival storage under less-than-ideal conditions, and the alternatives presented in passive environmental control by boxed storage and enclosed display cases as microclimates.Bigourdan and Reilly 2000, 4Theoretically, enclosures and microclimates can impact on film stability in several different ways, including facilitating ventilation, neutralizing acid, adsorbing acid vapors, and reducing film moisture content.CCA 2003b, 16The archives may possess an existing appropriate microclimate in some part of the building where a particular set of stable environmental conditions exist. A cooler and lower relative humidity area, for instance, could be used for storing photographic collections. To determine whether a certain area of the building has a suitable microclimate for storing collections, regular monitoring is necessary for a period of some months. ¶ Obviously, not all microclimates are beneficial. Hot, dry furnace rooms, wet basements and damp or cold areas near exterior walls and windows hasten the deterioration of archival records. Regular air circulation throughout the room may diminish the formation of unwanted microclimates thus reducing the chance of mould outbreaks and other forms of deterioration associated with damper areas.France 2009, 20The concept of cases or microclimates can be extended to storage areas where encasing cultural heritage materials helps to buffer the environment to achieve the required material tolerances in relation to external changes, while addressing the need to optimise preservation requirements.Senge 2011, 1Microclimate boxes can be readily set up within a storage area that houses other materials with different RH requirements.Lowe 2020, 155–156They rearranged storage shelving and displays to allow for optimal air flow and strategically installed residential fans and space heaters—with antimicrobial filters—to achieve the necessary balance between temperature and humidity in the various microclimates they discovered in their study of the building. Moreover, these mechanical interventions were set to automatically turn off when necessary levels were reached, thus reducing the energy they consumed.
