West Yorkshire Archive Service

What were the outcomes for service users?

Prior to the mould project, collection production for researchers was routinely affected by the mould outbreak. Items were often only identified as mouldy when requested for searchroom production. There then followed a delay, during which the affected items required ad hoc cleaning.

After systematically surveying 17,983 containers, 988 were identified and cleaned of mould. Previously, 5.5% of the collections were inaccessible to the public, but now, no collections are ‘unfit for production’ because of live mould. The survey project has also reassuringly confirmed that there has been no parallel insect pest outbreak.

Another key benefit is that future monitoring and vigilance may be targeted using the risk patterns which emerged from the survey. Boxing or packaging for example was not found to be a significant mould risk or protection factor.

However, collections with previous exposure to mould or sub-standard storage conditions, or those stored on shelves nearest the floor were found to be at greater risk from the mould outbreak. Items on the lowest shelves were four times more likely to be mould affected, while those from a previous environmentally problematic store were twice as likely to be mould affected. Collections in these categories can be easily checked in the future to ensure stability and access.

Describe what you learned from the process: what went well? What didn’t go quite as well?

Surveying and cleaning processes were gradually honed over the course of the project, working with the space, resources and time available. The initial cleaning benchmark was to focus on live mould and return collections to ‘pre-outbreak status’; however this was quite quickly relaxed to enable cleaning of older mould, as this also affected collections access and was an established risk for making items vulnerable to mould in the future.

The project has illustrated how the preventive benefits of stable storage combined with a spot-checking regime will be the most effective strategy in targeting and identifying future issues.

Beginning the project during the Covid-19 pandemic meant adoption of a flexible rather than a ‘blitz-it’ approach. A combination of employing existing staff on both a rota and overtime basis meant that additional casual staff were used rather than employing dedicated full time staff. In less disruptive times, the latter approach would likely be more effective in finishing the project sooner.

However, a project regime in which cleaning was integrated into the week-by-week operation of the service illustrates potential value long-term, albeit at a lower intensity. In particular, a clear economic case can be made around systematic cleaning of collections upon accession to help mitigate future mould related issues.

Record keeping and collection of statistics have also been effective throughout, supported by the barcoded containers and the diligence and consistency of contributing staff.

If someone was thinking about taking on a similar project, what would be the one piece of advice you would give them?

For a project with an unknown potential range of mould affected material, it would be helpful to plan for both worst-case and best-case scenarios. A small pilot project can help assess limitations and opportunities regarding timescales, the scope of work, logistics, staff capacity and resources.

Most importantly, by also reaching out to the archives sector for advice and potential funding, the core project will then be better supported, more accountable and likely to succeed, as well as be a source of learning and experience for others.

How will this work be developed in the future?

The project will be used to promote understanding by archive service stakeholders of the value of stable environmental conditions and the impact of a hiatus and limitations in collections care. Data illustrating the time and resources needed to clean and survey collections after an outbreak will provide advocacy material for improvements in other stores.

Additional environmental monitoring conducted has illustrated the levelling-out effect of packaging. Though not able to permanently prevent mould in unsuitable conditions, fluctuations in temperature and humidity were shown to be regulated by the barrier of boxing. This evidence will be used to promote storage solutions designed to maximise opportunities for packaging as well as allow sufficient gaps between collections and the floor, proven to be a higher risk area for mould.

Enhanced collections knowledge and an appreciation of patterns of risk around mould will help choreograph checking regimes in the future. A summary of the project methodology will create readily useable and scalable guidance for any future mould-related challenges.