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Under Construction:
Preservation Concerns During
Construction and Renovation
LYRASIS Preservation Services
Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the
Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and
Preservation and Access.
Unit 1

• Education and training: full-day workshops, live
online and self-paced classes.
• Information and referral: call us with your
preservation questions!
• Loan services: we have environmental monitoring
equipment available for loan.
• Publications: preservation publications
downloadable for free.
• Disaster assistance: we are available 24/7 to
assist you.
• Consulting: personalized assistance for your
specific needs.
• For more information: www.lyrasis.org/preservation

Class Resource Page
• A resource page has been created this
class. It is located at:
http://delicious.com/eduserv/under.construction
• This will contain all the links included in
this self paced class and more!

Welcome
• New construction, whether to a new building or
renovation to an already existing structure, can allow for
upgrades to fire protection and suppression systems,
protection from water leaks (via roof, windows, basement
floods, piping), upgrades to your heating, ventilation and
air conditioning systems and more.

Welcome
• … but rarely does a
construction/renovation
project happen without
some damage to
collections. This class will
help to minimize that
damage by effective
planning before, during, and
after the construction
process.

Learning Outcomes
• Examine the ways to work with contractors to minimize
risk to your materials during construction projects
• Review and understand the plusses and minuses of
moving collections during renovation, as well as identify
ways to protect the materials during a move.
• Mitigate risk to protect building and collections during
construction.
• Investigate post-construction activities that will help
ensure a smooth transition into your newly renovated or
created space.

Introduction
• Unit 1
– Planning
– Staffing
– Working with a contractor
– Supervising the Worksite
– Reducing Risk
– Disaster Preparedness
• Unit 2
– To Move or Not to Move?
– Who is Responsible?
– Internal vs. External Movers
– Temporary Storage
– Preparing to Move Collections
This class is broken into 5 Units

Introduction
• Unit 3
– Preparing Materials for Moving
– Protecting Collection in Situ
– Protecting Buildings and Collections
– Collection Dangers
• Unit 4
– Interruptions in service
– Communication
– Security
– Accidents
• Unit 5
– Potentially Harmful Construction Materials
– Reducing the Harm
– Post Construction
– Cleaning the Buildings

Unit 1
– Planning
– Staffing
– Working with a contractor
– Supervising the Worksite
– Reducing Risk
– Disaster Preparedness

Planning a Construction Project
• Start early: It is essential that you begin early in
the process to consider potential threats to your
building and collections during the construction
process. You should not underestimate the
administrative challenges it organizing a
construction or renovation project.

• Maintain good communications: Your ability to clearly
define and distribute responsibilities across your
organization and your willingness to openly
communicate progress as well as setbacks to staff and
users will determine the success of your project.
• Some of the worst damage to institutions during building
and renovation comes not from damage to collections,
but from staff turnover related to frustration or from
diminished user satisfaction based on problems with
services.

• Consult with risk managers, staff, and legal counsel:
Consultation with a qualified risk manager at the
beginning of your project will help to ensure that the
appropriate decisions are made at the appropriate time.
• Work with a variety of staff, from administration to
facilities personnel, to departments affected by the
construction – make sure that representatives from all
these groups are part of the planning committee.
• Consult with legal counsel to ensure that contracts are
worded in such a way as to protect the staff and
collections.

• Plan preventative measures: Be Proactive!
The basic elements of a preservation program,
including a disaster response plan and pest
management program, should be in place before
you project begins.
• Ensuring that these basic preventative measures
have been address prior to construction will
allow you to deal effectively with problems that
invariably arise from moving collections and
renovating existing facilities.

• Ann Hamilton has created a planning checklist
that can be adapted for any institution planning a
renovation or addition.
• Titled Creating Today’s ARC Takes More
Than 40 Days and 40 Nights: a Checklist for a
Project With a Renovation and/or and
Addition, you can find it at the link below. It is a
long PDF, and Ann’s article starts at page 28 of
this document.
• http://www.lyrasis.org/LYRASIS%20Digital/Documents/P
reservation%20PDFs/Under_Construction_all_pages.pdf

Guidelines for Archival Facilities
• Archival facilities sometimes have construction
requirements unique to records facilities. To
learn more about areas to consider when
planning a construction project for archival and
special collections facilities, some links are
provided on the following slide.

Guidelines for Archival Facilities
• Publications made available by the Society of American
Archivists.
– Archival and Special Collections Facilities: Guidelines for
Archivists, Librarians, Architects, and Engineers by Michele
F. Pacifico and Thomas P. Wilsted. Order information available
at: http://saa.archivists.org/store/archival-and-special-collections-
facilities-guidelines/1355/
– Planning New and Remodeled Archival Facilities by Thomas
Wilsted. Order information available at:
http://saa.archivists.org/store/planning-new-and-remodeled-
archival-facilities/187/
– General guidelines for university and college archival
facilities available here:
http://www2.archivists.org/groups/college-and-university-
archives-section/guidelines-for-college-and-university-
archives

Staffing a Construction Project
The decision to use institution staff or
outside contractors depends on the amount,
quality and type of work being performed.

• Minor construction, such
as painting, repairing
walls, or changing locks,
can usually be performed
by facilities or
maintenance staff. These
projects are usually
inexpensive, and occur
quickly.

• More specialized projects, like installation of fire
suppression equipment, often requires expertise beyond
that belonging to someone at your institution. If you bring
in an outside specialist, you will need to consider some
security issues.
*Make sure to supervise anyone working in areas
with valuable material and check out references from
other cultural institutions.*

• Major renovations will definitely require an outside
contractor. Not only will you have to incorporate security
issues mentioned previously, but you will have a much
winder range of concerns that will need to be addresses.
We will be examining these issues throughout the rest if
the class.

Working with a Contractor
• Understanding the contractor’s liability: In general,
the contractor takes on the responsibility for construction
sites, including liability for injury or damage, However,
you must read the contract very carefully – if it spells out
specific instructions regarding the degree of protection
and you sign off on these protections, then the institution
itself may be partially liable in the event of a disaster.

• You may want to specify:
• Welding safety procedures: Having a second
person on hand or requiring that all welding be
completed by noon so that hot spots have cooled
before the end of the workday.
• Number & type of fire extinguishers present:
Depending on materials construction will be
around.
• Responsibility for clean-up: At the end of the
work and well as in the event of a disaster. It the
contractor is responsible, they may hire someone
who does not have experience working with
collection materials.

• You may want to specify:
• Responsibility for salvage & restoration: Be
sure the contract stipulates who is responsible for
salvage (personnel, freezing and drying
collections, dehumidification of space, etc.) and
restoration activities (microfilming, binding,
photocopying, and conservation) as well as who
makes the decisions regarding actions needed.
**If the contractor is responsible for paying for such
activities, they may choose the cheapest method
instead of the method most appropriate for the long-
term benefits of the collections.**

• Once you understand what the contractor is and is not
responsible for, your institution may need to purchase
additional insurance to cover the liabilities outside the
contractor’s obligations. Be sure to take the additional
expense in to account when determining the budget for
construction costs.

Worksite Supervisor
Regardless of the scope of you construction project, it is a
good idea to have a worksite supervisor. This person could
be a facilities staff person or a representative from within
the archives, library or museum, like a curator.
• Whoever you choose should be someone who has a
vested interest in keeping the collections safe.
• This person should review plans for construction,
conduct inspections, and ensure security at the site.

Worksite Supervisor
• They should ensure each step of the construction, and
have the authority to stop any activities that pose a
danger to people or collections.
• They should also have the authority to take over a site in
an emergency to make repairs.
• If this person is a curator or other staff rather than
someone with more experience supervising such
projects, you may also want to hire a full-time inspector
to supervise safety issues.

Supervising the Worksite
One of the best ways to protect your collections is to
regularly conduct worksite inspections.
• Get to know the contractor and educate her or him about
the importance of protecting collections – once people
understand the value of the collection, they often will
proceed with more care. Many contractors may want to
cut corners, figuring it is cheaper to clean up than to pay
for preventative measures, but since our institutions
contain irreplaceable items the standard procedures do
not apply.

Supervising the Worksite
• It is important to clarify expectations regarding the site: how often
and what should be cleaned; how should it be left at the end of the
day; the use of food, drinks, and tobacco. Follow through to ensure
that workers are meeting expectations. Especially as time goes on,
you need to reiterate what the requirements are.
• It is also a good idea to provide care and handling training in
case contractors have to move materials in the course of the
construction process or because of a disaster. It is much easier to
train in advance than when you are in the middle of cleaning up after
a pipe burst.
• Finally, inspect the worksite on weekends or after storms to ensure
that the area is secured and that water has not entered the
construction area.

Reduce Risk
• You can use construction and renovation projects as
opportunities to reduce risk to your collections. When
selecting which potential risks to focus on, prioritize
based on threat levels, such as geographic location,
regional weather patterns, and past problems.
• Improvements made to the building based on these risks
will do much to protect and prevent damage to your
collections in the future.

Reduce Risk
• Well-constructed foundations and roofs can do
much to prevent damage from flooding, heavy rains,
or ice dams. Likewise, poorly constructed roofs and
foundations leave your collections vulnerable to
water damage.

Reduce Risk
• Depending on where you live, you may be susceptible to
earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes. Construction
projects offer a good opportunity to install extra bracing
for book shelves or hurricane shutters on windows.
• Fire detection and suppression systems are a key
means to protect both human safety and the safety of
your collections, Your detection system should be
connected to the outside world, since many fires occur
when no one is around.

Reduce Risk
• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
systems more than 20 years old may need replacing or
extensive servicing. Improving your HVAC system is the
single most cost-effective means of protecting every item
within your collections.
• Ultraviolet light and heat generated by lights can speed
up the deterioration process. Whether you are using
fluorescent or compact fluorescent bulbs, be sure to
purchase UV sleeves or low UV bulbs to protect you
collections from UV damage.

Disaster Preparedness
• Structural damage, dust, and water damage are
all common results of construction and
renovation projects. That is why it is essential to
have an up-to-date disaster response plan in
place and to have trained staff to implement the
plan before a building project begins. If you are
moving into a new building, it is important to
update your disaster plan to account for the new
space.

• It is important to provide your staff with disaster training
on a regular basis, regardless of whether you are
implementing a construction project or not. This can be
accomplished through table-top exercises, practicing
specific types of salvage procedures, or a full-blown
mock recovery exercise.
• LYRASIS and other regional preservation education
centers have a wide of variety of education opportunities
related to disaster training, To see a list of LYRASIS
classes, go to the class page here:
http://www.lyrasis.org/Pages/Courses.aspx?type=catalo
g&val=show

• Disaster supplies, such as plastic sheeting and paper
towels, should be placed throughout the institution,
especially in places likely to be affected by the
renovation.
• An in-house supply checklist for disaster preparedness
can be found here:
http://www.lyrasis.org/LYRASIS%20Digital/Documents/P
reservation%20PDFs/InhouseSup.pdf

• Finally, it’s good to have a prearranged contract
with a disaster recovery vendor. Such an
agreement does not require an institution to use
them, but it does allow for a more efficient
response.
• LYRASIS can assist you in finding an
appropriate vendor.

Unit 1 Quiz
What Have You Learned?

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 1: When planning a construction
project, what is not one of the top concerns?
– A: Consultation with qualified parties
– B: Providing coffee for workers
– C: Communication
– D: Prevention Planning

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 1: When planning a construction
project, what is not one of the top concerns?
– Answer: B: Providing coffee for workers
• Although it would be nice to provide services to
keep everyone happy, it should not be prioritized
with the other duties listed in Question 1.

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 2: When staffing a construction
project, installation of specialized equipment can
often be handled by staff, providing that they
research the topic.
– True or False?

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 2: When staffing a construction
project, installation of specialized equipment can
often be handled by staff, providing that they
research the topic.
– Answer: False
• Many construction projects will need outside
professionally trained staff for particular work, such
as installation of fire suppression systems.

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 3: The worksite supervisor should
have the authority to take over a site is an
emergency to make repairs.
– True or False?

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 3: The worksite supervisor should
have the authority to take over a site is an
emergency to make repairs.
– Answer: True
• The ideal worksite supervisor should have an
investment and interest in keeping collections safe
and should have the skill level to make sound
decision in case of an emergency.

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 4: What is not one of the important
steps in disaster planning?
– A: Education and training
– B: Having up-to-date disaster plan
– C: Knowing types of mold
– D: Keeping an in-house supply stockpile

Unit 1 Quiz
• Question 4: What is not one of the important
steps in disaster planning?
– Answer: C: Knowing types of mold
• Although being able to identify mold may be
important if your institution suffers damage, it is not
a primary part of disaster planning.

Thank You!
To continue Under Construction,
View Unit 2
Contact us if you have any questions.
preservation@lyrasis.org

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