Monitoring Environmental conditions in all areas should be monitored and recorded with reliable and regularly maintained equipment.
Organic materials expand and contract as ambient moisture levels rise and fall.
Rapid fluctuations of temperature and relative humidity affect the dimensions and mechanical properties of materials and can lead to flaking pigments, warped covers on books, and cracked emulsion on photographs. In general, library material should be stored and used in stable conditions which are not too hot, not too dry and not too damp. As an energy source light can catalyse and accelerate chemical reactions. Higher energy ultraviolet is the most harmful. However, light in all its forms, especially in the presence of atmospheric pollutants, leads to a weakening and embrittlement of cellulose, adhesives, cloth, and skin materials.