This book elaborates on different aspects of the decision making process concerning the management of climate risk in museums and historic houses. The goal of this publication is to assist collection managers and caretakers by providing information that will allow responsible decisions about the museum indoor climate to be made. The focus is not only on the outcome, but also on the equally important process that leads to that outcome. The different steps contribute significantly to the understanding of the needs of movable and immovable heritage. The decision making process to determine the requirements for the museum indoor climate includes nine steps: Step 1. The process to make a balanced decision starts by clarifying the decision context and evaluating what is important to the decision maker by developing clear objectives. In Step 2 the value of all heritage assets that are affected by the decision are evaluated and the significance of the building and the movable collection is made explicit. Step 3. The climate risks to the moveable collection are assessed. Step 4: Those parts of the building that are considered valuable and susceptible to certain climate conditions are identified. Step 5. The human comfort needs for visitors and staff are expressed. Step 6: To understand the indoor climate, the building physics are explored. Step 7. The climate specifications derived from step 3 to 5 are weighed and for each climate zone the optimal climate conditions are specified. Step 8: Within the value framework established in Step 1, the options to optimize the indoor climate are considered and selected. Step 9: All options to reduce the climate collection risks are evaluated by the objectives established in Step 1.

Curating the Future: Museums, Communities and Climate Change explores the way museums tackle the broad global issue of climate change. It explores the power of real objects and collections to stir hearts and minds, to engage communities affected by change. Museums work through exhibitions, events, and specific collection projects to reach different communities in different ways. The book emphasises the moral responsibilities of museums to address climate change, not just by communicating science but also by enabling people already affected by changes to find their own ways of living with global warming. There are museums of natural history, of art and of social history. The focus of this book is the museum communities, like those in the Pacific, who have to find new ways to express their culture in a new place. The book considers how collections in museums might help future generations stay in touch with their culture, even where they have left their place. It asks what should the people of the present be collecting for museums in a climate-changed future? The book is rich with practical museum experience and detailed projects, as well as critical and philosophical analyses about where a museum can intervene to speak to this great conundrum of our times. Curating the Future is essential reading for all those working in museums and grappling with how to talk about climate change. It also has academic applications in courses of museology and museum studies, cultural studies, heritage studies, digital humanities, design, anthropology, and environmental humanities.

Microclimate for Cultural Heritage: Measurement, Risk Assessment, Conservation, Restoration, and Maintenance of Indoor and Outdoor Monuments, Third Edition, presents the latest on microclimates, environmental issues and the conservation of cultural heritage. It is a useful treatise on microphysics, acting as a practical handbook for conservators and specialists in physics, chemistry, architecture, engineering, geology and biology who focus on environmental issues and the conservation of works of art. It fills a gap between the application of atmospheric sciences, like the thermodynamic processes of clouds and dynamics of planetary boundary layer, and their application to a monument surface or a room within a museum. Sections covers applied theory, environmental issues and conservation, practical utilization, along with suggestions, examples, common issues and errors. - Connects theory to practice with clear illustrations, useful examples, and case studies - Covers practical issues, e.g. rising damp, moulds, and pests, indoor heating, thermal comfort, green lighting technology, performing field surveys - Presents the latest standards for measuring cultural assets and their environment - Discusses climate change and indoor - outdoor potential scenarios, including sea-level rise

As museums have taken on more complex roles in their communities and the number of museum stakeholders has increased to include a greater array of people, effective museum planning is more important than ever. The Manual of Museum Planning has become the definitive text for museum professionals, trustees, architects, and others who are concerned with the planning, design, construction, renovation, or expansion of a public gallery or museum. Rewritten and reorganized, the third edition features revised sections on planning for visitors, collections, and the building itself, and new sections on operations and implementation, which have become an essential part of the planning process. This new edition of the Manual of Museum Planning has been updated to meet the needs of professional museum practice in the 21st century and includes contributions by leading museum professionals. This manual is intended to be used as a guide for museum professionals, board members or trustees, government agencies, architects, designers, engineers, cost consultants, or other specialist consultants embarking on a capital project—expansion, renovation, or new construction of museum space.