[PADG:316] Compact shelving & sprinklers: Test Results

[Winston Atkins <Winston.Atkins@xxxxxxxx>]

Folks,
If I heard the question correctly at PADG, someone asked if the test
results had been published for the Canadian National Archives' tests of
compact shelving and sprinklers. The National Fire Protection Association's
standard NFPA 909 (Code for the Protection of Cultural Resources) has about
twenty-five pages on a series of five tests (Appendix C) at the CNA. By the
way, Appendix A of that standard includes a section on fires in cultural
institutions and addresses libraries separately from museums. It includes a
discussion of some library fires and the chart showing that Incendiary or
Suspicious Fires is the top cause of library fires (1980-1997) at 40
percent; next in line is Electrical Distribution at 20 percent. My copy is
the 2001 edition; a revised standard is due this year but I saw no word on
the NFPA website regarding whether this same information will be in its
appendices. I was late to PADG, and I apologize if this information was
given out before I arrived.

Cheers,
Winston Atkins

Preservation Department
Duke University Libraries
Campus Box 90189
Durham, NC 27708-0189

winston.atkins@xxxxxxxx
Ph: 919-660-5843     Fax 919-684-2855
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