The National Park Service Museum Management Program is pleased to announce that the updated NPS Museum Handbook Museum Collections Environment chapter is now available.
The chapter, developed for over 385 National Park museums located throughout the USA, provides guidance on how to achieve an optimal environment for different types of collections located in a broad range of climate zones and housed in various building types, including furnished historic structures.
It includes:
- Sections on “Collections Environment Basics” and “Building Basics for Collections”
- Easy-to-follow sequential steps with recommendations on how to manage and control the museum environment.
- Recommended temperature and relative humidity set points. These set points are expanded slightly from the earlier NPS recommended ranges to accommodate the range of climate zones in which park collections are housed, and that can also allow for greater energy efficiency.
- Updated light standards.
Other recommendations include :
- Moderating climate fluctuations by containerizing collections in well-constructed and sealed metal cabinets
- Rotating objects on exhibit to minimize light exposure
- Guidance on flash photography and copying
- Guidance on minimizing air pollution in spaces housing collections