These are the measures undertaken to positively impact the collections as a whole. Conservation works with the rest of PRONI staff to lower risks to the collections by managing the environment around the original records and protecting them from hazards.
Good archive preservation requires minimising fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity (RH). This stable environment reduces the risk of physical and chemical deterioration of the collections which can happen slowly over years, decades and centuries. Conservation staff work closely with PRONI’s Premises team to monitor the environment in our stores.
PRONI has a passive storage environment in line with British Standard 16893:2018. Traditionally, archive store temperatures have been actively controlled via air handling units, requiring constant high energy usage. The stores at PRONI HQ are well insulated, affording inherent protection against external temperature changes. This has allowed staff to gradually reduce our reliance on air handling systems whilst maintaining a stable climate. This has significantly reduced our energy consumption, contributing to Programme for Government targets around environmental sustainability.
One of the key risks of an unstable environment is the growth of mould. Mould not only causes significant damage to records, but also poses a health risk to people. It is important to ensure active mould is not brought into our stores where it could spread to our existing collections. Archives arriving at PRONI are monitored for any evidence of mould, and the Conservation team isolate and clean affected records, using appropriate protective equipment. Sometimes damage has already occurred, causing paper to stain, soften and eventually disintegrate, however, once cleaned, the low relative humidity in PRONI’s stores prevents mould from reactivating.
Collections held by PRONI are housed in archival enclosures, such as acid-free envelopes and folders, and standard archival boxes. This reduces the potential of physical and chemical deterioration and also provides a first line of defence against fire or water damage. Conservation provides advice and guidance to other PRONI staff on the use of enclosures when cataloguing and storing records. The conservation team handmake bespoke enclosures out of acid-free board where records are particularly fragile, have been rolled or are an unusual size or shape.
PRONI has a comprehensive Emergency Plan which outlines our response in the event of a threat to our collections, such as fire or flood. This is tested regularly, and PRONI’s Salvage Team are trained to respond quickly in the event of a disaster to limit damage to the archives.
If you would like simple steps to improve storage of your archives at home, see our guidance.