Climate-induced risk for the preservation of paper collections: Comparative study among three historic libraries in Italy

Verticchio, Elena; Frasca, Francesca; Bertolin, Chiara; Siani, Anna Maria

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108394

Cited by 30 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The recently proposed Time Weighted Expected Lifetime (TWEL) index was used to estimate the expected lifetime of paper collections on both a yearly and a seasonal basis [9]. As the well-established Time Weighted Preservation Index (TWPI) defined in [9], the TWEL index integrates the concept of a time weighted index to quantitatively compare the chemical risk due to the indoor climate conditions over different time windows (e.g., yearly or seasonally). The TWEL was defined as:…”

Section: Chemical Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The principal risks affecting the durability of library collections include mechanical, chemical, biological and photodeterioration mechanisms. Several recent studies, summarised in [9], have investigated the microclimate data collected in libraries considering various standards and guidelines for heritage conservation, as well as using different methods to assess the deterioration risks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conservation risks for paper collections induced by the microclimate in the repository of the Alessandrina Library in Rome (Italy)

Verticchio

Frasca

Cavalieri³

et al. 2022

Herit Sci

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The Alessandrina Library was founded in 1667 by pope Alexander VII Chigi and is nowadays housed in the Campus of Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). Within its Ancient (mostly made of rag paper) and Modern (mostly made of contemporary paper) collections, it includes more than one million books produced from the XVI to the XXI century. In 2019, six thermo-hygrometers were deployed in its multi-storey repository to monitor temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). Hourly T and RH data collected over 2 years allowed us to evaluate spatial and temporal thermo-hygrometric distributions and to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the climate-induced risks (mechanical, chemical, and biological deterioration mechanisms). Vertical temperature gradients associated with unstable conditions occurred in winter, resulting in upraising air flows up to the ceiling. The risky short-term RH fluctuations (EN 15757:2010) were determined to avoid mechanical stress in case of loans, relocation, and consultation. The Time Weighted Expected Lifetime (TWEL) index was used to evaluate the chemical risk for different paper-based collections as a function of their acidity and degree of polymerisation, also considering the typical response time of paper books to T and RH changes. The TWEL calculation estimated that the durability of acidic paper was around 300 years and highlighted that rag paper could be subject to cellulose hydrolysis only in summer and autumn, while contemporary paper was mostly at no risk. The risk of mould germination (Sedlbauer diagram) was possible on few days in Autumn, while the production of insect eggs (Brimblecombe empirical function) was favoured during approximately 42% of time over the year. In addition, illuminance and colorimetric measurements (performed on selected book covers) showed that light-sensitive objects could be exposed to the photodeterioration risk in the east-facing side of the repository. Although the investigation focussed on a specific case study, a similar approach could be effectively adapted to most library and archival repositories conserving paper-based collections.

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Section: Chemical Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation risks for paper collections induced by the microclimate in the repository of the Alessandrina Library in Rome (Italy)

Verticchio

Frasca

Cavalieri³

et al. 2022

Herit Sci

Self Cite

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“…The existing standards are guides that provide indications to limit the climate-induced physical damage of hygroscopic, organic materials, kept in long-term storage or exhibition in indoor environments (such as museums, galleries, storage areas, archives, libraries, churches and modern or historical buildings). As already performed for historic libraries [1], a brief overview on the existing protocols about the wooden objects' conservation is described and summarised in Table 1. The Italian Legislative Decree D. Lgs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysing the Main Standards for Climate-Induced Mechanical Risk in Heritage Wooden Structures: The Case of the Ringebu and Heddal Stave Churches (Norway)

2022

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Studying, controlling and extrapolating the indoor microclimate of historical buildings have always been at the forefront among numerous preventive conservation strategies, especially in case of buildings made of organic hygroscopic materials, e.g., wood. The variations and fluctuations of the microclimatic variables, namely temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH), could have a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties of wooden objects, works of art and structures. For this reason, through the years, several guidelines have been provided by standards and protocols about the optimal microclimatic conditions that should be ensured to avoid the decay and the eventual catastrophic failure of heritage objects and buildings. In this work, two historical buildings entirely made of Scots pine wood have been analysed: the Ringebu and Heddal stave churches (Norway). These churches store several wooden medieval statues and paintings that are also susceptible to the effects of the microclimate. For this reason, the timeseries of the indoor relative humidity of the two churches have been analysed, in the framework of the indications provided by the standards. The criticalities of the existing protocols have been pointed out, emphasizing the need for systematically and periodically updated specifications, tailorable to a given case study of concern, without forgetting the ever-present needs of energy- and money-saving approaches.

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“…Changes in the climate may influence the patterns of energy use, thermal comfort, and hygrothermal performance of historic buildings. The current studies mainly focus on the challenges that the climate will impose on the preservation of artifacts inside historic buildings [6][7][8], while the thermal comfort is a growing issue. Apparent temperature rises in the microclimate will be identified in the historic city centre in the future [9], which will be a serious threat to socio-culture life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overheating Risks and Adaptation Strategies of Energy Retrofitted Historic Buildings under the Impact of Climate Change: Case Studies in Alpine Region

et al. 2022

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Energy retrofits can enhance the liveability and efficiency of historic buildings while preserving their historic and aesthetic values. However, measures like improved insulation and airtightness may increase their vulnerability to overheating and climate change may further worsen their performance in the future. This paper investigates indoor overheating risks brought by climate change in retrofitted historic buildings and proposes effective adaptation strategies. Firstly, local weather conditions are analysed to identify homogenous climatic zones. For each climatic zone, “a business-as-usual” emissions scenario is adopted, and most representative regional climate models are selected to obtain hourly output of future climate projection. A comparative study is adopted where typical alpine residential buildings, “Portici house”, are simulated with regard to future energy use and indoor thermal state using the dynamic model in EnergyPlus. Energy use and indoor thermal conditions are compared before and after energy retrofit, as well as under present and future climate conditions. The results demonstrate that retrofit interventions could significantly improve energy efficiency of historic buildings in both present and future scenarios. A change in climate together with retrofit interventions will, however, result in higher risk of indoor overheating in South Tyrol. Potential negative side effects of energy retrofit could be controlled by adopting adequate shading and ventilation approaches that minimise, or eliminate, the risk of overheating during high temperature periods while optimising historic buildings’ energy performance.

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Climate-induced risk for the preservation of paper collections: Comparative study among three historic libraries in Italy

Cited by 30 publications

References 29 publications

Conservation risks for paper collections induced by the microclimate in the repository of the Alessandrina Library in Rome (Italy)

Conservation risks for paper collections induced by the microclimate in the repository of the Alessandrina Library in Rome (Italy)

Analysing the Main Standards for Climate-Induced Mechanical Risk in Heritage Wooden Structures: The Case of the Ringebu and Heddal Stave Churches (Norway)

Overheating Risks and Adaptation Strategies of Energy Retrofitted Historic Buildings under the Impact of Climate Change: Case Studies in Alpine Region

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