Course:LIBR562/S2012/Group3/Preservation

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Preservation in tropical climates poses many challenges since many of the optimal conditions for preserving various media, paper, magnetic tapes, DVDs, CDs, etc., favour temperate climates and can be expensive to implement in tropical areas. As Shuller notes in their discussion of Audio/Visual preservation, but is true:

Standards have been defined to help slow down the progress of this decay in order to prolong the life of this kind of source material. The parameters of these standards have been defined within the prevailing environmental and economic framework of developed countries with moderate climatic conditions. [1]

This is especially true of the islands within the Polynesian triangle, since few of them have the infrastructure or funding to build, or maintain, modern buildings with climate controls. This means, for many places, alternative, low cost solutions will give the libraries or archives the best chances to preserve their materials. This article will discuss the various challenges of preservation in tropical countries and some of their possible solutions.

Climate Conditions in the Polynesian Triangle

All of the countries within the triangle are within the tropical range of climates, with some variations between specific islands. However, this does mean that they all face the challenges of high temperatures and high humidity and everything that this includes. As Dean (2002) notes: "The higher the temperature, the more rapidly materials will deteriorate because heat accelerates the chemical reactions that cause deterioration.”[2] Furthermore, the relatively high temperatures in the Polynesian regions also correlates to the high humidity, since the warmer the temperature the more water air can hold.[3] While it is true that the humidity itself is a concern, it is important to remember that fluctuations in the temperature, or when it drops or cools, can cause air to lose moisture and this creates condensation.[4]

These two climatic conditions, temperature and humidity, are the focus of many of the dangers to materials and what preservation efforts seek to target. High temperatures and high humidity make perfect environments for many different threats to the long term preservation of materials. It increases the pace of biological deterioration, inclusive of mold and insects.[5] As such, they will be the focus of much of the following discussion.

Insects and Vermin

Insects and pests are only one type of biological agent of deterioration identified by Bankole.[6] However, it is important to note that some of the insects and pests noted for deteriorating books, like the bookworm and booklouse, are not significant concerns in tropical regions.[7] Instead, termites, cockroaches, woodlice, and weevils are the main concern.[8]. Rodents like rats, mice, and squirrels have also been known to damage collections, either by consuming resources or from their waste products.[9]

There are a few low costs methods for managing or minimizing deterioration from insects or vermin:

  • Ensuring that the windows have screens.[10]
  • Making sure that no food is prepared or consumed in the building.[11]
  • No lights are attached to the exterior of the building.[12]
  • Shrubs and trees are away from the building or do not touch it (included no creeping vines).[13]
  • Having an isolation room for newly acquired materials.[14]
  • Freeze contaminated or suspect materials in sealed bags to prevent moisture changes.[15]

Mold

Mold is the biggest danger to library or archival collections, second only to acidic paper.[16] It is important to note that mold spores are always present in the air but require a sufficient amount of moisture in order to grow.[17] Other factors influencing the growth of mold are building maintenance, temperature, air circulation, and the number of visitors.[18] While this section is focused on preservation of the collection, it is also important to remember that many varieties of mold can be harmful to the health of the staff or users.[19]

Since the major condition for mold growth is humidity and temperature the main way to control its growth is through climate control. This can be accomplished by air conditioners,[20] however it is also the case that this solution is very expensive and often unsustainable for small or poorly funded library and archives. Installing air conditioners but being able to run them all the time can actually create condensation from the too quick lowering of temperatures. An alternative to air conditioning is installing fans: the key is to ensure proper ventilation and air flow throughout the collection.[21]

Preservation of Audio/Video Material

The previous two sections were somewhat more concerned with preserving paper materials. However, a significant portion of the cultures in the Polynesian triangle have oral history as an important element in their culture. This means that the preservation efforts in some areas has been focused on collecting and preserving audio or visual materials. Of course, the problem with this is that the conditions of many tropical areas, the high temperatures and high humidity are not only bad for paper: "It is a sad experience, however, that in tropical countries, audiovisual data carriers often have greatly reduced life expectancies.”[22]

While audio and visual materials are susceptible to molds, many of the suggestions made for preserving paper will apply here. A different danger is simply the fact that warmer temperatures accelerate the aging process, which can exacerbate hydrolysis “a process whereby the long polymer molecular chains break down thereby altering their chemical and physical properties.”[23]

Some practical suggestions for preserving audio or visual materials are:[24]

  • Using radical thermal insulation
  • Build archives or libraries in the centre of the building, with no walls touching outside walls
  • Using indigenous building materials
  • Wrapping invidual carriers to prevent dust

Perhaps the best suggestion, but also the most costly, is to continuously update the container of the audio or visual materials:

There is unanimous agreement that the realistic time window to replay dedicated audio and video formats is not longer than 15 years. After that, transfer of au- diovisual contents to digital repositories will become an archeo- logical challenge with uncertain results at considerable cost.[25]

This would initially involve a migration to digital objects, something which is likely to be outside of the budget of many countries within the Polynesian triangle.

Disaster Planning

Natural Disasters

All of Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tonga, Tokelau, Niue, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna have their own disaster plans. Information about the risks for each country and the steps they are taking to manage and/or prevent them can be found on their respective pages.

Climate Change

One pressing 'disaster' concern for the general region is climate change. This region is particularly vulnerable because it largely consists of low-lying geographic fetures, making it vulnerable to rises in the sea level.[26]

The main concerns regarding rising sea levels relate to:[27]

  • The effects on potable water
  • The effects on arable land
  • Resulting extreme weather events and their consequences.
  • Political and social upheaval
  • Risks to infrastructure

References

  1. ↑ Shuller, Dietrich. (2011). "Audio and Video Materials in Tropical Countries." International Preservation News 54: 31.
  2. ↑ Dean, J. F. (2002). "Environment and passive climate control chiefly in tropical climates." Paper presented at the 68th IFLA Council and General Conference, August 18-24, 2002: 1.
  3. ↑ Dean, J. F. (2002). "Environment and passive climate control chiefly in tropical climates." Paper presented at the 68th IFLA Council and General Conference, August 18-24, 2002: 2.
  4. ↑ ibid.
  5. ↑ Olubanke M. Bankole. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6), 416.
  6. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6), 416-417.
  7. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6): 420.
  8. ↑ ibid.
  9. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6): 421.
  10. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6): 423.
  11. ↑ ibid.
  12. ↑ Daniel, Vinod. 2011. "Insect Control: A total approach for Small and remote museums in the tropics." International Preservation News 54: 17.
  13. ↑ ibid.
  14. ↑ Daniel, Vinod. 2011. "Insect Control: A total approach for Small and remote museums in the tropics." International Preservation News 54: 18.
  15. ↑ ibid.
  16. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6): 417.
  17. ↑ ibid.
  18. ↑ ibid.
  19. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6): 419.
  20. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6): 421.
  21. ↑ Bankole, Olubanke M. (2010). A review of biological deterioration of library materials and possible control strategies in the tropics. Library Review, 59(6): 422.
  22. ↑ Shuller, Dietrich. 2011. "Audio and Video Materials in Tropical Countries." International Preservation News 54: 31.
  23. ↑ Shuller, Dietrich. 2011. "Audio and Video Materials in Tropical Countries." International Preservation News 54: 32.
  24. ↑ These suggestions are paraphrased from Shuller, Dietrich. 2011. "Audio and Video Materials in Tropical Countries." International Preservation News 54: 33-34.
  25. ↑ Shuller, Dietrich. 2011. "Audio and Video Materials in Tropical Countries." International Preservation News 54: 34.
  26. ↑ Gordon-Clark, Matthew. (2012). Paradise lost? pacific island archives threatened by climate change. Archival Science, 12(1), 53.
  27. ↑ ibid.
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