Planning Conservation Labs

Constructing or renovating a book and paper conservation lab offers an exciting opportunity for developing or improving a conservation program. The opportunity may become a daunting task for even the most seasoned conservator, let alone an administrator who has less direct understanding of how a conservation lab functions. Planning and Constructing Book and Paper Conservation Laboratories: A Guidebook is a critical resource for those planning new or remodeled conservation labs for book and paper collections. It offers useful tips, common practices, insights, and references to relevant codes and guidelines for the design process. When the editors of Planning and Constructing Book and Paper Conservation Laboratories: A Guidebook were faced with their own conservation lab projects, they were frustrated by the lack of published information available to assist them. In response, they have gathered current experts in the field of conservation to address basic planning, design, or specific-use elements of conservation laboratories. Planning chapters introduce concepts in:

Project management
Space planning
Hybrid approaches to lab design
Ergonomic considerations.

Technical chapters present key considerations for completing a conservation lab construction project, such as

Fume hoods and ventilation systems
Water purification
Lighting
Custom-built furniture design
Quarantine space planning

Topical chapters offer unique perspectives on labs for work on flat paper collections and privately run conservation labs.