Resources on mould in heritage collections

The image shows a conservator, Tiffany Eng Moore, performing a mould remediation treatement on a contaminated book, with a smoke sponge and a vacuum.

This article provides several resources on mould in heritage collections, in particular about book, paper and photographic materials. The resources are organised according to their level of complexity, from overviews to more in depth resources so as to be useful to members of the general public, heritage professionals and conservators.

For additional questions, specific advice or to enquire about treatment to an item, please contact us! The conservators at CCC are experts in mould and mould remediation and we’re happy to provide information or guidance adapted to your project.

Jump to:
Short overviews and general information on mould
Mould prevention and recovery for heritage collections
In depth resources for conservators

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Short overviews and general information on mould

  • Infographic: “Mould & Cultural Heritage Collections” – Conservation Centre for Art and Historic Artefacts, Philadelphia (English) – One page infographic for information on mould at a glance.

  • “La conservation préventive : Les moisissures” – Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (French) – Explains what mould are, the health hazard associated with them, how to prevent mould and what to do when you have contaminated collection.

  • “Moisissures” – Centre de Conservation du Québec  (French) –Very quick definition of mould, with pictures.

  • “Mold: Prevention Of Growth In Museum Collections” – National Park Services (United-States) Conserve-O-Gram (English) – Explains what mould are, the health hazard associated with them, how to identify and prevent mould.

  • “Mould” – Health Canada (English/French) – General guidance information from Health Canada, including health risks and mould prevention in indoor spaces. 

  • “Mould” – National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (English/French) – General guidance and remediation recommendations from the NCCEH. For the remediation recommendations and size of outbreaks, follow this link.

  • “Mould in cultural heritage institutions” – Tiffany Eng Moore & Chloé Lucas, DIY Museum Webinar series #3, Group of Emerging Ontario Professionals – 30 minutes presentation explaining what mould are, how to identify and prevent mould; and giving an overview of the workflow to follow in case of mould contamination in a cultural heritage institution.

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Mould prevention and recovery for heritage collections

  • “Fluffy Stuff: Integrated Control of Mould in Archives” – The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency (English) – Downloadable document explaining what are moulds and integrated control of mould in museums, archives and libraries.

  • “Mould Prevention and Collection Recovery: Guidelines for Heritage Collections” – Canadian Conservation Institute (English/French) – Explains what mould are, how to prevent mould in heritage collections, how to remove mould growth from objects and the appropriate personal protective equipment to wear when working in a mould-contaminated environment or or when working with mould-infested collections.

  • “Salvaging library and archives collections” – British Library Preservation Guides (English, follow the last link at the bottom of the page) – Downloadable document on how to salvage library and archive collections affected by water and fire damage.

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In depth resources for conservators

  • “Fungal Facts: Solving Fungal Problems in Heritage Collections” – Florian, Mary-Lou E., London, UK: Archetype Publications, 2002 (English) – Overview of fungi and mould in heritage collections. Intended for a conservation audience, includes information about biology, prevention, and remediations strategies.

  • “Field Guide to emergency response” – American Institute for Conservation (English) – Serie of 10 min long videos on emergency response for cultural heritage.

  • “How Do We Assess Mould Levels? Exploring the Parameters of Rapid Adenosine Bioluminescent Swabs in Conservation” – Tiffany Eng Moore, ICON Conservation Together at Home Webinar #24 – Examination of a new technology used to identify mould, includes mould cleaning and common questions about mould in conservation.