by Megan Atkinson
Tennessee Tech University Archives and Special Collections would like to showcase its new storage facility located on the first floor of the Angelo and Jennette Volpe Library. The facility’s construction was funded by the Tennessee Tech Foundation, Friends of the Volpe Library, and the Angelo and Jennette Volpe Library Support Endowment.
Tennessee Tech Archives houses over 2,500 cubic feet of materials and is constantly growing, taking in more physical records and their electronic equivalents every week. Housing archival materials requires more work than just placing materials in boxes on shelves. Archives require daily maintenance and the correct storage facilities. This includes dusting, cleaning, monitoring for pests, and monitoring for the correct temperature and relative humidity. Proper storage requires a temperature of 35-65 degrees and relative humidity between 30-50 percent, with little to no fluctuation between seasons. These temperatures are not conducive to comfortable working conditions and are impossible to obtain with a standard HVAC system.
When I started in December of 2015, I immediately recognized the need for better storage in the current facilities. When monitored, the temperature and humidity fluctuated daily. This can cause problems such as materials deteriorating at a faster rate, creating the potential for pests, and causing mold to activate. Fortunately, there was a solution on the horizon. Volpe Library had what was called “the dirt room,” which was a large space across the hall from archives set aside for future development during the library’s original construction in 1989. The room was not called “the dirt room” as a silly joke; it truly was an unexcavated room containing nothing but dirt.
Completing the project involved removing this dirt, finishing the room, and installing a dedicated HVAC unit for the archives that could maintain the storage conditions required of archive facilities. The room, completed in December 2019, now boasts its own HVAC and new compact shelving unit which allows for future collection growth. Tennessee Tech Archives staff and student employees worked diligently throughout the break and are continuing working into the new year getting the new facility up and running for the start of the semester. Stay tuned for an open house in April for Tech and the community where we will show off our new storage facility and some of the treasures it contains.
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