White Paper to the National Endowment for the Humanities: PF-20161213: Improving the Physical Environment in Spencer Research Library, October 2017-March 2019

Abstract

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the University of Kansas Libraries a grant of $50,000 under the Sustaining Cultural Collections program to engage consultants from Image Permanence Institute (IPI), Rochester Institute of Technology, for an 18-month period to collect and analyze data on the environmental conditions within the Kenneth Spencer Research Library collection storage and staff areas. The consultants were required to report results of their research and recommendations at the end of the contract period. The University of Kansas Libraries assembled an Environmental Management Team to engage in a thorough planning process with the IPI consultants in order to identify problems and determine feasible, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable solutions for the fifty-year old Kenneth Spencer Research Library and its heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, dating from construction. The ultimate goals of the project were to better preserve the collections and the facility itself while, if possible, reducing the environmental impact of the building’s operations. The project proceeded smoothly during the entire grant period, with no omissions or significant changes to the proposed plan. The consultants planned three visits to the University campus to evaluate the building and its HVAC system and to communicate with University staff from the physical plant and the Libraries. Robust communication ensued among Library and University staff and the consultants throughout the contract period.