Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Job Posting: Conservator at the Oxfordshire County Council Museums Service 2. RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes 3. RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes 4. RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes 5. Habits concerning surface fillers : a survey for all restorers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Naomi Bergmans Posted: Thursday November 27, 2025 8:02 AM Subject: Job Posting: Conservator at the Oxfordshire County Council Museums Service Message: We are looking for a permanent, part-time (22.2 hours/week) conservator to join our friendly team at the Museums Resource Centre, Oxfordshire. The work is split between remedial conservation work on a wide variety of materials from our Social History and Archaeology collections, loans and exhibitions preparation, and routine preventive conservation duties. Further information can be found on the County Council website: Conservator | 05 January, 2026 | Jobs and careers with Oxfordshire County Council <https://careers.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jobs/job/Conservator/1600> ------------------------------ Naomi Bergmans Curatorial Assistant / Archaeological Conservator Oxfordshire Museums Service Standlake (nr Witney) OX19 7QG Oxfordshire United Kingdom ------------------------------ 2.From: David Thickett Posted: Thursday November 27, 2025 8:03 AM Subject: RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Message: Part of the issue is there's a significant disagreement in scientific literature if pollutant gases from paper, accelerate its deterioration in these boxes. Clear evidence in sealed enclosures, at least from accelerated aging, with 10 compounds being identified as accelerating decay. There was also an excellent study by John Havermanns in National Archive in Netherlands that showed significant drops in degree of polymerisation of four types of paper in a few years in closed archive boxes, but no or much less, in boxes with those holes. Unfortunately this was never published as a paper. Similarly MEMORI project provided low temperature (40C) more significant impact of acetic acid than other research, again unpublished. I suspect John's study was the genesis of the holes you mention Gabrielle. It also comes down to how permeable the archival card of the walls is. Most concentration measurements in 'closed' boxes, give low acetic acid levels, with just a few measurements of the other gases. However, coatings and wet strength treatments can reduce cardboard permeability and increase the concentration effect. Looking at the original images, I suspect those boxes have a lot of ventilation from the deformation of the lids apparent, which is often seen on older examples of these boxes. David Thickett | Senior Conservation Scientist | Collections Conservation English Heritage Trust www.english-heritage.org.uk <https://uk.content.exclaimer.net/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.english-heritage.org.uk%2F&tenantid=pti8bxdCEe6pvWBFvdKH0g&templateid=3b1dab038f79ef119c3600224841a690&excomponentid=rMLoLtV1DY4u5kZtzPfXbqexVpZjrvwPYlt4kFd6nBA&excomponenttype=Image&signature=mhpMFf18uw_S0OJQXu4Mt3v8hRrMMlvFlUIIlqBaKQfTgzUtILfCORq1sKaEqM0ytUPaYUWXmg9YbFxFdaBn6fgKOGodb3p3NmdZthhQ-_QnUf9zYWH6PDwL7sUAwCd4LSmXOyTkWR8u27PL0_6xaax58ihmAwvevPWs8Vm_4H_9ps9nDB6KwLw7p-owzweVtLjj2DCL0ht8OEvSPf0dDnFG4hKtjm_G26NKyeDVSYst3lo1gtCh8Yi-7r7okCgUuzQWqNf2AzbdnYyKXqVh9_gtQMOUm7XFQAFsgNVOvU2afexIHlpTP6kRkLwNb_DM3Z6NKTECfZhmo7U66NJLXQ&v=1&imprintMessageId=9ee03220-c5f7-45e9-9891-e5a780a955c8>Heritage is for everybody, and we are here for heritage. That's why, as a charity, we care for over a million objects and hundreds of historic sites in every part of England. And it's why we open them up, share their stories and find new ways for everybody to enjoy, learn, play and create. The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a limited company, no. 07447221, registered in England and Wales. Our registered office is The Engine House, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon SN2 2EH This email (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of English Heritage unless specifically stated. If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it. Any information sent to English Heritage may become publicly available. ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11/26/2025 9:50:00 AM From: Gabrielle Beentjes Subject: RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Dear Emily, In the Netherlands (almost) all archival boxes have similar ventilation holes in them. The reason for this is twofold: 1. To prevent a microclimate happening: because air can flow in and out of the box freely, and is therefore to some extent moving, it helps preventing mould germination and growth. 2. Possible culmination of gasses emitting from the archival documents, such as acetic acid, is prevented. These gasses are known to catalyse paper degradation processes. In our case the design of the boxes and placement of the hole in the box also helps checking if the box is properly filled, i.e. not too empty with the risk of deforming documents. And it is a practical help when taking the box of the shelf, as it provides a bit of grip when the shelf is full with boxes. ------------------------------ Gabrielle Beentjes Senior Conservation Specialist Nationaal Archief Den Haag Netherlands ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11-24-2025 08:05 From: Emily Mullin Subject: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Hi all! I have just started a new job as conservator at a county archive in the UK. All the archive boxes they are using here have 'ventilation holes' in them, please see images attached. I had never seen this before coming here and was told it was to stop a microclimate from forming. The holes in my option defeats many of the benefits boxes give in protecting the archival material within. My plan therefore going forward is to be ordering boxes without holes in them. I was wondering if anyone else had ever come across this as an archival practice before or can think of any positives? ------------------------------ Emily Mullin Book and Paper Conservation Student City & Guilds of London Art School London United Kingdom ------------------------------ 3.From: Chris Woods Posted: Thursday November 27, 2025 8:03 AM Subject: RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Message: Dear Emily, colleagues Air holes in archive boxes are quite common, if inconsistently applied thankfully, in record offices in the UK. The reason some archives have done this in the past is threefold, the first being the reason for the second: The old BS 5454 (1978, 1989 and 2000) required ventilation and a high level of air movement (notionally 6 room air change per hour) and a BMS control set point and tight dead band of RH and temperature (+/- 5% and c.1DegC). The reason for this is now recognised as an error, based on research and practice in the last 25+ years. There was an assumption that documents emitted internal pollutants that were sufficient to deteriorate the same collections (even though the standard recommended enclosure in boxes, sleeves and folders etc, which produce microclimates). There was also a widely held notion that if air doesn't move, mould grows (unfortunately mixing up drying of building structures with archive document needs, but premised on the widespread problem of poor quality buildings). Colleagues may find the following useful, where I have gone over the old 5454 iterations (all now long withdrawn and replaced by BS4971:2017 and EN 16893:2018) and highlighted that archival materials hold significant moisture content and a ready capacity to emit moisture into the box and eventually room as temperature increases and reabsorb it as it cools, resulting in the same effect as adding a lot of silica gel to a small microclimate. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111386713-012/html <https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111386713-012/html> Research has demonstrated that air movement is not needed and practice over 30-40 years has almost universally shown that running BMS controlled HVAC systems places collections at risk and is unnecessary for long term conservation of archival materials. A single archive box at 50% RH equilibrium contains c.700ml (c.10% m.c. in a typical record office archive collection of mixed materials) of water, bound in the contents. The key to safe storage is keeping this moisture content at a low to moderate level, ideally by bringing it to an equilibrium of about 40% RH and placing collections in relatively air tight store structures (ref EN 16893) and having a moderate seasonal temperature profiles (<10DegC and ideally lower still). In this scenario there is no need for HVAC air movement. Archives across the UK are moving to passive climate stores where existing structures are reasonably good quality or can be improved, and in new building projects, using only desiccant dehumidification as a back up to reduce accumulated moisture content when needed. There are now many examples of this change. It also provides considerable energy and maintenance savings, many thousands of UKP per annum, and reduces carbon emissions considerably. It will be worth carrying out a passive climate test project at your archive and over time it is likely to be best to replace boxes that have holes, since microclimates are a key feature of successful passive storage. ChrisChair, BSI IDT 2/9 for BS4971 and first convener of the CEN task group for EN 16893_________________________________________________________________ Chris Woods PGDipCons BAhons CertCons RMARA ACR FIIC DirectorNational Conservation Service21 Albemarle StreetMayfairLondon W1S 4BSwww.ncs.org.uktel: 07855796985 NCS membership is operated by Nationwide Conservation Service Ltd, a not-for-profit membership company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales no. 07077608, VAT reg. 202361951. NCS projects are provided by Conservation Ltd, a company registered in England & Wales no. 06659286 VAT reg. 981696269. Both companies are registered at 21 Albemarle St, Mayfair, London W1S 4BS ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11/26/2025 9:50:00 AM From: Gabrielle Beentjes Subject: RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Dear Emily, In the Netherlands (almost) all archival boxes have similar ventilation holes in them. The reason for this is twofold: 1. To prevent a microclimate happening: because air can flow in and out of the box freely, and is therefore to some extent moving, it helps preventing mould germination and growth. 2. Possible culmination of gasses emitting from the archival documents, such as acetic acid, is prevented. These gasses are known to catalyse paper degradation processes. In our case the design of the boxes and placement of the hole in the box also helps checking if the box is properly filled, i.e. not too empty with the risk of deforming documents. And it is a practical help when taking the box of the shelf, as it provides a bit of grip when the shelf is full with boxes. ------------------------------ Gabrielle Beentjes Senior Conservation Specialist Nationaal Archief Den Haag Netherlands ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11-24-2025 08:05 From: Emily Mullin Subject: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Hi all! I have just started a new job as conservator at a county archive in the UK. All the archive boxes they are using here have 'ventilation holes' in them, please see images attached. I had never seen this before coming here and was told it was to stop a microclimate from forming. The holes in my option defeats many of the benefits boxes give in protecting the archival material within. My plan therefore going forward is to be ordering boxes without holes in them. I was wondering if anyone else had ever come across this as an archival practice before or can think of any positives? ------------------------------ Emily Mullin Book and Paper Conservation Student City & Guilds of London Art School London United Kingdom ------------------------------ 4.From: Felix Roth Posted: Thursday November 27, 2025 8:04 AM Subject: RE: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Message: Hi Emily, Germany here. In the Federal Archives, our latest archive boxes do not have such holes, and they are not that much common here (they are, however, common for registry boxes from corrugated cardboard). There are, I feel, some misconceptions about microclimates underway, and the trouble with half-truths is that often the wrong half sticks around. Mould can only germinate and grow if the material is getting damp - 60% RH have for a long time been regarded as a safe upper limit; if you stay a bit below that, the better. A microclimate in the box with a different RH than in the room can only form in a few cases: a) wet/damp material has been placed inside the box (for example, if it has been recently acquired from a damp cellar); b) the box is attached closely to a really cold wall (like, 10 °C colder than the room); c) the box is warmed up a lot within a short time - that will cause the RH to rise about 3% for each 10°C rising. Tim Padfield explains this stuff in his text "The interaction of water vapour with paper". If you can avoid all of these, microclimate is not an issue for you. For acidic acid: Yes, the concentration inside boxes containing old paper is elevated in many cases. But that probably does not matter much in practice. Frank Lighterind and Giovanni di Pietro did the math in 2018 (The limited impact of acetic acid in archives and libraries) and concluded it might at most shorten the lifetime by about 2% - and only if the paper is neutral or basic, as acidic paper will not absorb this volatile, weak acid. I guess the records inside the box are wrapped in cardboard folders? In this case, the holes would not change that much about the microclimate or the concentration of acid between the pages anyway. So, my advice would be to go ahed and order boxes without holes for the future. For reassurance: The holes are not particularly harmful either. Felix Roth Federal Archives, Berlin ------------------------------ Felix Roth Archivist, Executive officer for preservation Das Bundesarchiv Koblenz Germany ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 11-24-2025 08:05 From: Emily Mullin Subject: Ventilation Holes in Archive Boxes Hi all! I have just started a new job as conservator at a county archive in the UK. All the archive boxes they are using here have 'ventilation holes' in them, please see images attached. I had never seen this before coming here and was told it was to stop a microclimate from forming. The holes in my option defeats many of the benefits boxes give in protecting the archival material within. My plan therefore going forward is to be ordering boxes without holes in them. I was wondering if anyone else had ever come across this as an archival practice before or can think of any positives? ------------------------------ Emily Mullin Book and Paper Conservation Student City & Guilds of London Art School London United Kingdom ------------------------------ 5.From: Sarah Degrenne Posted: Thursday November 27, 2025 8:05 AM Subject: Habits concerning surface fillers : a survey for all restorers Message: Dear all, Currently a final year Master's student in Conservation-Restoration of Works of Art, specialising in ceramics and glass, at ENSAV La Cambre (Brussels), I am writing a thesis on 'non-structural' or 'surface' fillers/putties suitable for porous ceramics mainly. My research focuses on a comparative study of several studio formulation fillers (using bulked synthetic dispersions) as alternatives to ready-to-use fillers/putties, taking the latter as a reference to interpret my results. I've already posted a survey for ceramics restorers, thank you so much for all your responses. Now I would like to gather information on the habits of restorers of all conservation fields, in order to compare them with the practice of restorers specialised in ceramics. Therefore I am trying to gain a better understanding of why and how restorers select such filling materials, whether handmade or ready-to-use. I hope to achieve this through the following survey, hence I would be very grateful if you could take some time to answer it. Thus this second survey will help me apprehend the restorers's tendencies according to the substrate, the country, continent or educational establishment. Each response will be very useful for the purpose of my study. If you have time (less than 6 minutes), the link below drives you to the aforesaid survey in English, composed of 23 check boxes questions. Habits concerning surface fillers for non-structural losses on artworks. <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdLhtveHbTBrbC1uUhNAxKR5tKZLVm8Xrt4K4lyg_PxOWWaXw/viewform?usp=header> Here is the same survey for potential French speakers : Habitudes concernant les mastics pour le comblement de surface des œuvres. <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLduRsY7CADnpyCMvagC1U-Oo97QOi2rvdhcXztZxRm9hcRA/viewform?usp=header> Thank you all for your time and precious participation. Kind regards, Sarah Degrenne 2nd year of Master's degree ENSAV La Cambre | Brussels, Belgium ------------------------------ Sarah Degrenne Student École nationale supérieure des Arts visuels de La Cambre Bruxelles Belgium ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. 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