ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 304 I C&RL News ■ M ay 2003 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s news Collection disaster Mold in the stacks by Doris R. Brown D e m o ld in g is n o t a te rm th a t fig u re d in th e v o c a b u la ry o f D e P a u l U niversity Libraries p r io r t o 2000; i n d e e d it is a te r m th a t d o e s e v e n a p p e a r in dictionaries, b u t it h a s b e c o m e a fam iliar w o r d at D e P a u l as th e b a ttle a g ain st th e p e rn ic io u s s u b s ta n c e o f m o ld h a s b e c o m e a vir­ tual w ar. In O c t o b e r 2000, w h e n C h ic a g o ’s D e P a u l U n iv e rsity a n n o u n c e d its in te n t t o m e rg e w ith B a ra t C o lle g e in F e b r u a ry 2 001, a p l a n to i n ­ c o rp o ra te B a rat in to t h e e x is tin g lib ra ry o p e r a ­ tio n s w a s p u t in to m o tio n . D e P a u l h a s a c e n ­ tr a liz e d lib r a r y a d m i n is tr a tio n , w i t h a lib ra ry p r e s e n c e o n a ll s e v e n c a m p u s e s a n d w i t h li­ b r a r y i n te g r a t i o n in t h e u n i v e r s it y ’s i n t e r n a ­ tional p ro g ram s. T his c en tralize d a p p r o a c h c o n ­ s o lid a te s th e fu n c tio n a l a re a s o rg a n iz a tio n a lly a n d s p re a d s re sp o n sib ility fo r fu n c tio n s, w h ic h a re r e p e a te d a t e a c h c a m p u s. T h e e x p e c te d s m o o th in c o rp o ra tio n o f B arat into D eP aul’s library services w a s shattered, h o w ­ ever, d u ring th e first visit (O c to b er 2000) to Barat’s C o o n e y L ibrary, w h i c h w a s b u ilt in 1997. T h e m o ld sm e ll w a s p u n g e n t w h e n t h e f r o n t d o o r o p e n ed , a n d u p o n visiting th e stacks, m o ld spores c o uld b e se e n a n d sm elled in m ultiple areas. In the closed a n d dark Special Collections room , th e m old w a s h a n g in g in g r e e n s h e e ts o n th e v o lu m e s . D e P a u l’s lib ra ry s ta ff w a s n o t o n th e B a ra t d u e d ilig e n ce tea m , s o th e e x te n t o f p rio r library e x ­ am in a tio n a t B arat is u n k n o w n . D ePaul’s l i b r a r y E m ergency Response M a n u a l id entifies m o ld a s p ro b le m a tic after w a te r d a m ­ a g e, b u t th e r e w a s n o k n o w n w a te r d a m a g e at Barat. H o w ev e r, th e scale o f th e m o ld infestation n orte q u ire d a p ro m p t re sp o n se to rev iew th e collec­ tion, d iscard v o lu m e s n o t w o rth saving, a n d start m o ld r e m o v a l fro m t h e v o l u m e s t o b e k e p t. D e P a u l’s q u ic k p la n h a d to b e p o s tp o n e d , h o w ­ ever, since th e D ePaul-Barat m erg e r w o u ld n o t b e official u n til F e b ru a ry 2001, im p o s in g a d e la y o f five m o n th s b e fo re im p le m e n tin g c le a n u p . As a sto p g a p , D eP aul u rg e d B arat’s library staff to halt all interlibrary lending to avoid spreading th e m old to o th e r collections. R e v ie w in g th e co lle ctio n In M arch 2001, D e P a u l im m ediately b e g a n to re ­ v iew a v e ry p ro b lem atic collection th at h a d b e e n n e g le c te d b e c a u s e o f B arat’s financial p ro b lem s. D ePaul collection d e v e lo p m e n t staff b e g a n w e e d ­ ing m o ld y m aterials, lo o k in g fo r o u td a te d item s, d u p lic a te titles a lre ad y in D e P a u l’s C hicago c am ­ p u s libraries, o r volum es to o m old-infested to w ar­ ra n t th e c o st o f cleaning. T h e Special C ollections a rea w a s especially problem atic b e c a u se o f heav y m o ld a n d b e c a u s e a p e rc e p tio n o f “rarity” m e a n t a p o litic a l a n d e m o tio n a l d ra m a in d is c a rd in g books. T o offset th e p e rc e p tio n th a t rare b o o k s w e re b e in g d isc ard e d , titles w e re c h e c k e d in OCLC to dete rm in e availability, a n d o nly th o se w idely h eld w e re discarded, th ere b y elim inating th e allegation th at D e P a u l je ttiso n e d “ra re a n d v a lu a b le ” m ate ­ rials. A ny v o lu m e w ith historical o r e m otional ties to Barat (e.g., b io graphies o f St. M adeleine Sophie About the author D oris R. B ro w n is associate v ic e -p re s id e n t o f te a c h in g a n d le a rn in g resources a t D eP aul U nive rsity-C h ica go , e -m ail: dbrown@depaul.edu mailto:dbrown@depaul.edu C&RL News ■ May 2003 / 305 Barat a n d St. Rose D uchesne, founders o f the Soci­ ety o f Sacred H eart n u n s w h ic h o w n e d Barat Col­ lege) were kept to b e demolded. All discarded books w e re b o x e d to avoid a nyone talking a m oldy b o o k from a d u m p ste r a n d sp reading th e infestation. DePaul’s Facility Operations also contracted with ENVIRON Intern a tio n a l C o rp o ra tio n 1 to analyze th e m old to protect library staff a n d users from possible m old contam ination— a m ajor concern given highly publicized m old stories.2 ENVIRON’s re p o rt w a s received w ith relief, since the sam pling detected w as n ot the toxic m old that creates sick buildings, b u t Aspergillus spores. Analysis o f the in d o o r air sam ples indicated a high occunence of Penicilliumand Cladosporium species, but both these w ere also present in the outdoor air. ENVIRON re p o rte d that all air sam ple results w e re b e lo w 2,000 particles/m 3 total a n d 650 p ar­ ticles/m 3 individual (levels from recom m ended in­ d o o r guidelines for n o n viable particles o r fungal spores). These guidelines came from the Indoor Air Q uality A ssociation a n d the analyzing laboratory, MBI, since in th e U nited States n o federal agency lias the authority to regulate bioaerosols or biologi­ cal surface contam ination. Since there are n o regu­ latory standards for fungal bioaerosols, indoor fungi is com pared to outdoor samples to determine con­ centration o f specific fungi. Even th ough the collection w as small (approxi­ m ately 72,500 volum es), it w a s a d a u nting task to review every volume, not just for m old dam age but also to d eterm in e w h e th e r age a n d condition w ar­ ra n te d the cost for dem olding. This close analysis w as essential since Barat’s precarious financial con­ dition h a d allow ed purchase o f few n e w titles, a nd D ePaul’s staff determ ined that the b est w ay to ad­ vance Barat w as to recatalog everything w orth re­ tain in g fo r in te g ratio n in to D e P a u l’s ILLINET O nline (IO ) database. Both Barat a n d D ePaul h a d m em b e rsh ip in th e Illinois Library C o m p u te r Sys­ tems Organization (ILCSO), the statewide resource­ sharing p ro g ram for 45 academ ic libraries. Tile Illinois State Library granted D ePaul $4,000 for “Ask a P ro ” a n d $50,000 in LSTA funds for the project, “Rescuing D eP aul’s Barat C am pus Library a n d Its Collections,’’ su p p o rtin g D eP aul’s desire to save B arat’s collections for a n Illinois resource­ sharing program . B arat is lo c a te d in n o rth e a ste rn m e tro p o litan C hicago, w h ic h h a s fe w a c a d e m ic libraries, so DePaul’s goal for a strong Barat library w as d e em ed w o rth y b y th e State Library. “A sk a P ro ” fu n d s provided expert advice about cleaning the building, a n d th e $50,000 g ra n t partially s u p p o rte d having Every liv in g th in g has potential m old, and once th e m old has becom e an in festa tio n , it has to be rem oved to p re ve n t sp read in g. th e b o o k s d e m o ld e d b y M unters,3 a co m p a n y th at specializes in m oisture control, w h e th e r w a ­ te r o r hum idity dam age, a n d also h as a m eth o d to treat m o ld -d a m ag e d paper. A ction plan Step 1: Collection analysis D ePaul’s library staff a n aly ze d B arafs collection to d ete rm in e its value fo r D eP aul’s curriculum , review ing e a c h b o o k as d e sc rib e d above. D ePaul b ibliographers w o rk e d w ith B arat tea c h in g faculty to identify collection needs, a nd DePaul began to purchase n e w materials in FY02. DePaul’s extensive electronic resource col­ lections w e re tu rn ed o n at Barat w h e n the m erger agreem ent w a s legalized o n July 1,2001. Step 2: M old review a n d treatm ent o f books. Re­ tained b o o k s w e re sent to M unters for dem olding. Mufflers inventoried b ooks to b e cleaned a n d iden­ tified a ny w ith a m ore serious infestation requiring special attention. U p o n c o m p le tio n o f the in ven­ tory, the books w ere m o v ed to a stabilization cham­ b e r (38 degrees Fahrenheit) to prevent further m old g row th w hile the b o o k s aw aited processing. After stabilization, the b o o k s w e re desiccant air dried to rem o v e excess m oisture. D uring the cleaning pro­ cess, Munters u se d antimicrobial cleaners, applying Microban to rem ove the m old a n d sanitize the docu­ m ent. O nce cleaned a n d sanitized, the boo k s w ere s h ip p e d to D e P a u l’s L incoln P ark C a m p u s to b e recataloged. Step3:Bu ilding and fu r n iture treatment. Evesy liv­ ing thing has potential mold, a nd once the m old has b e co m e an infestation, it has to b e rem oved to pre­ vent spreading. At Barat, the library building h a d to b e trea te d to control th e m o ld a n d p revent it from grow ing again. Stack units w e re w ashed, the furni­ ture a n d c arpet w e re v a cu u m ed a n d w ashed, a n d th e air ducts w e re cleaned. For carpeting a n d u p ­ holstery, D ePaul u se d a special m old killing disin­ fectant solution. F o r h a rd surfaces, su c h as shelv­ ing, a solution containing bleach (at nonhazardous concentrations) w as u se d as a w ip e -d o w n agent. D ePaul identified a h u m a n factor contributing to the m o ld problem , as Barat’s physical plant staff d id n ot understand the w orking o f reheat coils that te m p e r th e air flow ing th ro u g h ventilation ducts. 306 / C8RL News ■ May 2003 D eP aul is rep lacin g th e overall c a m p u s b oilers in Barat’s m ain c am p u s building to e n su re th e build­ ing reheats are o p e rated effectively a n d efficiently, thus k e ep in g the tem perature a n d hum idity u n d e r c o n tro l. E le v ate d lev e ls o f m o ld h a v e n o t b e e n d e te c te d in a n y o th e r B arat b u ildings, m a k in g it unlikely that m aterial transfers from a n o th e r build­ ing started o r contributed to C ooney Library p ro b ­ lem s. Since B arat is lo cated o n th e sh o re s o f Lake Michigan, stand-alone dehumidifiers w ere installed to give te m p o ra ry ad d itio n al m o istu re control. Step 4: OCLC/ILCSO d a ta b a se c le a n u p . Barat e n te r e d ILCSO in 1990, as p a r t o f m e m b e rs h ip e x p a n s io n for th e LIBRAS s c h o o ls .1 W h e n B arat joined ILCSO, the college’s financial problem s w ere forcing staff cuts in converting library h oldings to m ac hine-readable form , resulting in a “dirty d ata­ b a se .” Barat’s IO records h a d volum es in th e data­ b a s e b u t n o t o n th e sh e lv e s , a n d d a ta b a s e call n u m b ers w e re different from labels o n th e books. Item s w e re left in OCLC after b e in g re m o v e d from IO a n d vice-versa, so n e ith e r system h a d a c o m ­ pletely c orrect Barat catalog. A fter b o o k s w e re re v ie w e d fo r re te n tio n a n d d e m o ld e d as d e sc rib e d a bove, D eP aul staff cata­ lo g e d th e b o o k s in OCLC fo r in c o rp o ra tio n into D e P a u l’s d a ta b ase. As this s te p w a s u n d e rta k e n , all o f B a rat’s h o ld in g s w e r e d e le te d fro m OCLC a n d IO, g ua ran tee in g that users o f D eP aul’s B arat C am p u s w o u ld h a v e c orrect title a n d v o lu m e in­ form ation. Problem s w ith the plan W h ile o u r p l a n o f a c tio n h e lp e d e n s u r e fu tu re access to th e B arat collection, it d id le a d to a few problems: • Collections w ere inaccessible while at Munters a n d w h ile aw aiting recataloging a n d reclassifica­ tion. O th e r D e P a u l c o p ie s c o u ld b e b o rro w e d , b u t stu d e n t a n d faculty access w a s delayed. • E v ery s te p t o o k lo n g e r t h a n a n tic ip a te d , w h e t h e r c o lle c tio n re v ie w o r d e m o l d i n g o r recataloging/reclassification. T h e recataloging/re­ classifìcation p roject h a d to b e jo ck e y ed in to th e sc h e d u le fo r IO ’s c o n v e rsio n to th e V oyager sys­ tem . • B a rat’s c o lle c tio n a g e a n d c o n d itio n w e r e w o rse th a n originally a p p are n t, s o D eP aul h a s to c o m m it m o re a n n u a l fu n d in g t o g e t th e c o lle c ­ tio n s u p to date. • Costs rose w ith every step, resulting in m o re o u tso u rc in g costs (e.g., M unters, OCLC). • Training for m ask u sage b e g a n after staff h a d b e g u n to re v ie w th e b o o k s. C loth glo v es d id n o t k e e p th e d irt a n d m o ld fro m h a n d s , b u t r u b b e r g lo v es w e r e u n c o m fo rta b le fo r s o m e staff. Staff w ith a n y k n o w n m e d ic a l p ro b le m s w e r e e ith e r n o t p u t o n th e p ro je c t o r w e re r e m o v e d w h e n a c o n d itio n b e c a m e k n o w n ; a ffe c te d sta ff w e r e a sk e d to c o m p le te a H u m a n R esources re p o rt for possible w o rk m e n ’s com pensation coverage. Conclusion D e P a u l’s p ro m p t a c tio n a n d th e Illinois State Li­ brary grant funding a llow ed a u n iq u e opportunity for saving a library collection a n d fo r m ak in g ac­ c ess to th a t c o lle c tio n a c c u ra te a n d factual. T h e entire project p re serv e d a valuable collection a n d p ro v id e s a p a tte rn fo r re s c u in g w h a t o th e rw is e w o u ld have b e e n discarded. P erhaps D ePaul sh o u ld h ave noticed th e m old p ro b lem d uring th e p re m e rg e r d u e diligence, b u t m a y b e th e m o ld w a s n o t in th e B arat lib ra ry at th a t tim e. P e rh a p s n o o n e o n th e D e P a u l te a m p a id a tte n tio n to th e 1997 library building, g iven the neglected state o f th e older buildings o n Barat’s c am p u s. P e rh a p s n o o n e n o tic e d th e m o ld sm ell b ecause they h a d n e v er experienced it before. Per­ h a p s if there h a d th ere b e e n a librarian o n th e d u e diligence team , th e m o ld a n d h um idity p ro b lem s m ight have b e e n n o te d m o n th s earlier. A dvice to o th e r librarians re g a rd in g c o n tro l­ ling mold? C heck a n y d o n a tio n s carefully for mil­ d e w a n d m o ld a n d d iscard them , o r if th e collec­ tio n v alue w arrants th e c le a n u p costs, h a v e th e m d e m o ld e d b e fo re bringing th e m into th e acquisi­ tion process. M old transfer from a n outside source is n o t universally a c c ep te d by conservation librar­ ians, b ut there is general caution a b o u t the n e e d to re v ie w d o n a tio n s fo r m o ld in festa tio n . C o n tac t th e local facilities o p e ra tio n s p e o p le to b e e d u ­ c a te d o n h o w th e te m p e ra tu re a n d h u m id ity is c o n tro lle d in th e library b u ild in g . If th e air feels h u m id , w h e t h e r h o t o r c o ld (m o ld g ro w s in all te m p e ra tu re s ), h a v e th e m o is tu re c o n te n t m e a ­ sured, c h e c k th e stacks, a n d follow y o u r nose! Notes 1. ENVIRON is a technical a n d scientific c o n ­ sulting firm p ro v id in g strategic risk m a n a g e m e n t services in p u blic h ealth a n d environm ental areas (h ttp ://w w w .e n v iro n c o rp .c o m ). 2. “H a u n te d b y M o ld ,” N e w York Tim es, 12 A u g u st 2001. 3. V isit M u n te rs a t h t t p : / / w w w . m u n t e r s . com. 4. LIBRAS is a c o n so rtiu m o f 17 C hicago-area small, private c ollege a n d university libraries. ■ http://www.environcorp.com http://www.munters C&RL News ■ M ay 2003 / 307