The literature review is being developed in part as the result of a workshop on the subject held at the GCI in 1992. At the workshop, the level of current knowledge was discussed, with gaps identified by experts in related fields. The information that exists is focused primarily on human comfort and is therefore not completely applicable to museum collections. Human beings are far more adaptable to environmental changes than are museum objects. In hot, dry climates, people stay inside buildings during the day and sleep outside on roofs at night.
People can also tolerate fluctuations in relative humidity.
Objects in museum collections lack this flexibility and cannot simply be moved around or covered up as environmental conditions change. There is a need to raise awareness of the damage that can be caused to museum collections by adverse conditions and to suggest simple approaches for creating a stable and safe environment. The reason for this was that the floors were mopped twice a day. Reducing the relative humidity inside the building involved the simple step of altering this long-standing custom. In another museum in Vietnam, all the furnishings and display cases were covered with condensation.