The presence of mould in a collection or its outbreak more widely across your holdings is a sensitive subject for any archive custodian. The situation requires a measured and well evidenced response, and there is a balance to be struck.
On the one hand, there is the opportunity to educate various stakeholders, including users, that archive materials (whether paper, parchment, cloth bindings, etc.) have a complex and dynamic relationship with the environment, which under certain conditions results in mould. On the other hand, the archive custodian needs to be protected from being perceived as careless or negligent in the care and management of its collections.
It is useful to develop an incident contingency plan to mitigate the impact of a mould outbreak, and this should include a communications strategy. In your strategy, you should identify your key audiences such as the governing body, staff, depositors, researchers and the public, as well planning the necessary health and safety and technical responses.
In the event of an incident:
- Collate and summarise the facts of the mould contamination or outbreak based on the available information. This could include:
- the extent, type, and health and safety implications of the affected material
- how much the mould will disrupt research access to the contaminated collections, and wider access to the premises and other services
- If there is one, consult your own Public Relations Team when preparing your communications about the incident to formulate an appropriate message for your key audiences.
- Draft an incident statement or a Frequently Asked Questions document, which colleagues can refer to when dealing with enquiries about the incident from the media, or other internal or external contacts. This should include:
- a clear headline with a key message that you wish to communicate to all who read it
- quantity of material affected
- the types of mould identified
- health and safety precautions (if any) adopted
- details of the practical response to the outbreak such as health and safety precautions taken, cleaning and conservation measures adopted, etc.
- the identities of the organisations involved (subject to the consent of the relevant parties)
- contact details (full address, telephone and email) for the main named person for enquiries
- a quote (if available) from an authoritative individual, encapsulating your organisation’s response to the incident
- Keep key audiences and stakeholders regularly updated, particularly letting them know when an incident has been fully resolved. The communications strategy needs to focus not only on the immediate circumstances of an incident, but all stages of its resolution and beyond. Well-delivered communications may even strengthen an organisation’s reputation if is perceived that it has managed a difficult situation well.
It is important to note that the communications plan may have to address a variety of audiences, requiring different levels of information at different times. For example, a message to a professional audience may have much more technical content than a message for the general public.