What were the outcomes for service users?
Without treatment the documents would have been unsafe to use, with the mould causing a danger to health. In addition, a catalogue could not be compiled, and needs for further conservation work could not be considered. The storage of damp documents with active mould within strongrooms would have put other collections at risk, and would have caused further degradation and loss of information from the documents. By drying and cleaning the documents it has made them accessible for research, and for a catalogue to be completed in due course.
Describe what you learned from the process: what went well? What didn’t go quite as well?
The dehumidifiers located at Somerset Heritage Centre, Devon Heritage Centre and within Somerset Museum Service were old and did not have high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, so a suitable dehumidifier and spare filters were ordered. This dehumidifier can now be used across services in the future wherever the need arises. The team used one of the older machines while waiting for the new dehumidifier to arrive, enabling them to start the drying process.
Before doing so, they covered the furniture in the Sort Room with plastic to minimise the spread of the mould spores and to limit the need to remove items from the space. Additionally, as archival packaging is stored in the Sort Room, the team did not want this material to become contaminated. This plastic has been retained for any future treatment of mould infestations.
Staff were forced to store the dry but untreated documents in the strongrooms for an extended period of time, while waiting for suitable weather and staff availability to clean them. This was not ideal, best practice being to keep mouldy collections away from the strongrooms. To minimise the risk of cross contamination, staff ensured that the documents were well wrapped in archival tissue, were placed on empty shelving in an isolated part of the strongrooms, and surrounded with pest traps.
This project is an example of how large mould infestations can be managed without the relevant dedicated facilities, such as a drying room, fume cupboard or isolation suite.
If someone was thinking about taking on a similar project, what would be the one piece of advice you would give them?
Ensure that the proper material and equipment is available on site as part of routine supplies. The team were given short notice for the collection of these documents, as the developers were keen to progress with their plans. This meant that there was little time prior to collection to ensure the correct equipment was ordered and available. Staff had to make decisions at speed, such as finding an appropriate space to utilise for drying.
Having a dehumidifier with a HEPA filter on the premises would have made the drying process quicker and easier and would have decreased the need for the cleaning of the Sort Room once the documents were dry.
Thinking through the use of spaces which can be utilised for the isolation and drying of mould infested collections within premises would also be beneficial. While the Sort Room was not ideal, it did provide a useful space, however it meant that staff had to delay the deposit of larger collections, which would normally be stored in the Sort Room while being processed.
How will this work be developed in the future?
This experience has not only provided staff with the relevant equipment, but also the staff know-how to deal with similar issues in the future. Archivists worked together with the Senior Conservator, so the knowledge base has been shared, meaning if the situation arose again – for example, the Senior Conservator was on holiday – treatment could be started immediately following the procedures developed through this experience.
The team will also ensure that more staff are trained in basic conservation practices, such as cleaning and packaging, as an extension to our Disaster Preparedness training. This will ensure that skills continue to be developed among all staff and so there are always staff available at short notice or in an emergency situation.