On Friday while volunteering at Glamorgan Archives, a very interesting thing happened, I got to witness first hand how previous inadequate storage can affect a collection even after it has been moved to an exceptional environment. While I was working on a project in the lab, Lydia, the head Conservator for the archives, got a call to come look at something that might possibly be mould. As it was something that interested me, she asked if I wanted to tag along. So we went and inspected the box of items in question. It turned out that not only was there mould, but it was live mould. Lovely blueish white fuzzy mould that was all over the contents of the box, which were mostly parchment. This is a big deal, as mould can be very damaging to a collection if left untreated, including staining, softening and weakening of paper, parchment and leather, leaving it very fragile. So both Lydia and I went to the storage area and searched a few boxes around the location of the infested box. Sure enough, mould was in quite a few of them. So our plans for the day had now been set. It was time to scavenge out the mould.
In order to understand how the mould grew in the current environment, we looked into the history of the previous storage locations, as Glamorgan Archives had made a move into a purpose built facility within the last five years, and there was previously some inadequate storage locations. After some research into the matter, it was found that the box in question along with the other boxes we discovered to have mould were all from the same out-storage facility in Landaff. Supposedly the documents had been stored in an outside facility with limited environmental controls, which led to the growth of mould in the new environment. With a list of all the other boxes that came from that site in hand, we searched to our hearts content for the rest of the afternoon, and discovered 30 other boxes besides the first that were removed from the storage and put into isolation so that the mould could dry out and be prepared for cleaning before being returned. Surprisingly, the documents that had been reboxed into new single archival storage boxes from the same location were free of mould. This has to do with the fact that as the documents were repackaged, they were also inspected, dried and cleaned if necessary. As a result, the search had only just begun. Many days and man hours will be put in by both staff and volunteers alike to ensure the safety of the collections from this unexpected outbreak of live mould. Of course while performing the search, proper personal protective equipment were worn to ensure everyone’s safety. This whole ordeal just goes to show the importance in knowing the history of your collection, so that unexpected happenings can successfully and efficiently be dealt with.