Carrier books successful project at Lambeth
Precious books and manuscripts dating back nearly 1,000 years will be protected in controlled environmental conditions courtesy of high efficiency Carrier AquaSnap chillers and heat pumps in a new world-class library at Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The new building, currently under construction within the grounds of Lambeth Palace on the South Bank of the River Thames, will house the priceless collection comprising over 4,600 manuscripts and 200,000 printed books stretching back to the 9th Century. They document over 1,000 years of ecclesiastical and cultural life of the Church of England and Great Britain, including the Gutenberg Bible with English illumination, which is believed to be the first printed book to arrive to England, as well as Elizabeth I's own prayer book.
Conditions for archive storage areas follow the recommendations of PD 5454, Guide for the Storage and Exhibition of Archival Materials, which requires a temperature of 8 degrees C during winter and 18 degrees in summer, with a Relative Humidity (RH) of 45%.
These conditions will be maintained as far as possible using a passive approach, with high levels of insulation and thermal inertia provided by the building fabric. Conditions will be constantly monitored and if they begin to drift outside pre-set limits, the HVAC equipment will be used to maintain temperatures and humidity levels.
