Talk:Paper Conservation Catalog - Mold

This discussion page was started by Katherine Kelly in June 2014 to collect ideas for improving this page, and to describe the process of editing it thus far. It includes the suggestions offered by the BPG Publications Committee, PCC Task Force in 2007-2009. If you are a registered user, please feel free to add your own suggestions for improvement.

Overall Goals

• to restart the process of editing the PCC. The mold/fungi page has not been edited for content since the pdf was converted to wiki format in May 2009.
• to serve as a model for restarting the editing process on other PCC pages.

Recent Changes

In June 2014, the page was essentially the same in content and presentation as the 1994 print edition of the PCC. Since then, the process of editing has included:

Stylistic Changes

• All references to this as Chapter 12 have been removed (and cross-references to “Chapter 12” elsewhere in the wiki have been updated).
• New header from a template added to clarify how edits should be made.
• New header with wiki compilers and contributors added at top
• New "History of this Chapter" section on chapter main page, describing publication history and original paper compilers/contributors.
• Content divided into multiple sub-pages.
• Content reorganized along a new outline (still preliminary and under review).
• Structure of page changed from numbered outline to wiki headers.
• Added generic PCC header and footer information and categories
• “Factors to Consider” is a bad section name, since it doesn't tell the user what it contains. This content has been retitled, "What is Mold?"

Content Deletions

• Removed some print PCC content:
  • how-to instructions for culturing mold
  • signatures from individual paragraphs (e.g. "(TP)")

New Content

• Page name changed from “Mold/Fungi” to “Mold” (Wikipedia defines mold as multicellular and fungi as the broader term including single celled yeasts).
• Updated, annotated bibliography.
• Several new sections have been added (without content as yet), including:

• gamma radiation
• case studies
• biological safety cabinets

Suggestions for Improvement

Style and Format:

• Standardize citation style to JAIC standards and link to online resources when possible.

• A more detailed table of contents would help readers quickly grasp the scope of the entire chapter.
• Several authors sometimes make essentially the same point in sequential paragraphs. These could be condensed.
• Overall, the page could use more in the way of focus/direction. The section on "Purpose" could be improved to define the audience and purpose for this page.

Content Building:

• Add links to online resources, both within the conservation wiki (Health and Safety, Disaster Response, PMG, textile, and objects mold pages) and elsewhere (CDC, EPA).
  • EPA mold page--Kkelly (talk) 15:23, 1 July 2015 (CDT)
• Add images, including photomicrographs of mold.
  • EPA has photos we are allowed to use here.--Kkelly (talk) 15:23, 1 July 2015 (CDT)
• Search out terms like "now available", "contemporary", "recently", "soon", and "since the turn of the century" and update them. And, if I may quote the 1994 page itself, "Any recommendations in the literature that are more than a few years old should be viewed with skepticism, since it is only in the last few years that the toxicity of a wide range of biocides has become a matter of concern."
• Discuss how and when mold fluorescences under UV light
• Prevention of mold should be stressed more and Health and Safety should be more thoroughly discussed
  • Do some fact checking on the statement about diabetes and mold.
  • Discuss sensitivity to mold with prolonged exposure. (Conservators who treat mold often)
• Fumigation section does not mention any options of freezing or anoxia.
• In the section on response - A timeline for mold during a disaster is needed (or linked to in disaster specific resources.
• Review sections on identifying mold species, when it is advisable, and the suggestions given for how to go about that (the several scattered sections on "how to cultivate" seem unnecessarily extensive - kkelly).
• Discuss gamma radiation (possibly under a "current research section").
• Discuss biological safety cabinets as an alternative to fume hoods.
• Review section on alterations to vacuum equipment and "mini-vacuums". Consider restating these as a less-preferred option to a HEPA filter, variable suction vacuum. Vacuum cleaner technology has improved significantly since 1994.
• Either update the discussion of PPE or [even better] link to more comprehensive resources.
• The section on Conservation Treatment: Photographic Materials is weak. It either needs better information or we should instead link to a better resource.
• The section on Conservation Treatment: Treatment of Structural Damage could be built up more
• Discussion of 70-30 ethanol to water mixture for cleaning equipment.
• More discussion of enzymes in stain reduction?
• The discussion of why we don't use certain fumigants is good, but could be brought up to date with more recent citations (and support for statements about 3% loss of paper strength caused by EtO).
• PMG has page on Mold with very good annotated bibliography. Consider collaboration with them? PMG Mold and Foxing Remediation--Denise Stockman (talk) 15:44, 14 April 2015 (CDT)
• The EPA draws a useful distinction between mold clean-up for less than 10 sq. ft. and more than 10 sq. ft.: http://www2.epa.gov/mold/mold-cleanup-your-home.--Kkelly (talk) 12:31, 18 November 2015 (CST)