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A year-long monitoring program was undertaken at Canada's Library of Parliament to answer the following:
- What indoor environmental conditions are currently being maintained in the library with its existing temperature and humidity control systems?
- What seasonal indoor environmental conditions can the existing building envelope support without distress or long-term durability problems?
- What improvements could be gained with various levels of intervention?
The goal of the monitoring program was to provide specific recommendations for indoor temperature and humidity conditions and required interventions that would provide for the long-term durability of the building envelope and functional, archival, and heritage conservation needs. The work included monitoring of
- hydrothermal conditions at key indoor locations and interstitial spaces in the envelope,
- indoor/outdoor pressure differences,
- surface condensation and moisture content of building assemblies including stone walls, and
- surface temperatures to establish the condensation resistance of the existing window systems.
This paper focuses on how monitoring data, visual observations, and assessment of moisture collection potential by analysis and simulation were used to define recommendations for the conservation of both the library and its collection.