Core Preservation Administration Interest Group

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About this Group

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Purpose: Focuses on both broad and specific preservation issues in libraries. Topics encompass physical collections generally, and occasionally digital preservation issues. We serve academic, public, special, and other types of libraries.

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This interest group is part of Core's Preservation Section.

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  • 1.  Clean agent fire suppression

    Posted Jun 27, 2024 09:28 AM

    I'm looking for some examples of peer institutions that have installed clean agent fire suppression systems relatively recently (within the last 10 years). Please let me know if you have a system and could share which clean agent you're using and, if you know, why you went with that particular product. 

    We're going to be replacing a Halon system in a special collections room, most likely with a modern clean agent. Examples from the field will help us think through our options. 

    Any info you can offer will be appreciated. 

    Thanks,

    Andy

    Andrew Hart

    MacDonald Director of Preservation

    University of Pennsylvania Libraries

    andyhart@upenn.edu

    215-746-2520

    (he, him)



    ------------------------------
    Andrew Hart
    MacDonald Director of Preservation
    University of Pennsylvania Libraries
    (he, him)
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Clean agent fire suppression

    Posted Jul 05, 2024 11:23 AM

    Hey Andy,

    We installed a clean agent system during our recent renovation (2017 project start, 2020-ish system install). The clean agent we went with (Novec 1230) was partially chosen because it was not scheduled for phasedown or phase-out, had a smaller climate impact, and the infrastructure would work with our somewhat challenging physical space. But your question led me to poke around and now I see that 3M is getting out of Novec 1230 manufacturing by 2025... so I guess I need to look more into what that means for us in terms of future suppliers.

    If you're interested, we have a decision matrix I can share. We were considering some different approaches, but ultimately the variances required and the infrastructure impacts left us with limited reasonable options.

    -jessica bitely
    boston public library



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    Jessica Bitely
    Preservation Manager
    Boston Public Library
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  • 3.  RE: Clean agent fire suppression

    Posted Jul 05, 2024 01:31 PM

    Thanks, Jessica. It seems like clean agent options have narrowed a great deal, some phasing out due to global warming impact and others because they contain PFAS. Yes, I'm interested in your decision matrix, if you don't mind sharing. 

    Since the particular space we're addressing was outfitted for Halon, it should be viable for an inert gas system and I think that's probably what I'll recommend. But I'm still interested in examples from the field, whether they reinforce the inert gas direction or suggest other possibilities. It's also possible that we'll discover some obstacle for inert gas (cost, engineering limitations, ...), so it's best to have some backup strategies in mind. 

    --Andy



    ------------------------------
    Andrew Hart
    MacDonald Director of Preservation
    University of Pennsylvania Libraries
    (he, him)
    ------------------------------