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The purpose of a Specialized Information Centre is to provide a comprehensive information service within a relatively restricted subject field. In this country Specialized Information Centres have been established both independently and with the assistance of the Office for Scientific and Technical Information mainly on an experimental basis with a view to gaining knowledge of the operation of, and the need for, specialized information services. The Office for Scientific and Technical Information has drawn up a series of criteria for consideration in supporting Specialized Information Centres so that they can obtain useful knowledge both in regard to their operation and also in regard to their place in the national communication network. Of the existing Specialized Information Centres OSTI has supported six, of which the Biodeterioration Information Centre was the first. The areas to which particular attention has been paid and in which Specialized Information Centres can perhaps be most useful are the newly developing sciences and technologies where existing knowledge and experience is scattered and not well defined, and where literature is spread over a wide variety of sources. Thus the Specialized Information Centre can help not only in terms of its primary role in supplying information but as a catalyst for the overall development of each subject.

Expected rates of biodeterioration in heritage buildings under historic conditions are well known. Deteriorating organisms will benefit from a warmer and wetter climate, giving faster and less predictable rates of deterioration. The Directorate for Cultural Heritage in Norway has requested development of a programme for long-term monitoring of climate change impacts to historic buildings. The development process and resulting monitoring system are previously described. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

An initial conditions survey is performed, and reference points are chosen in each building. Two microclimatic biodeterioration monitoring panels (MBM panels) are mounted in every building. The MBM panels monitor temperature, relative humidity and wood moisture content, and have standard wooden blocks for investigation of mould growth. The panels will show both the influence of outdoor climate on microclimate inside the building, and the connection between microclimate and activity of degrading organisms.

High competence and multi-disciplinary approach from the personnel involved are essential to balance flexibility and rigidity and decide the damages that are probably influenced by climate change. Extensive knowledge and experience in surveys of biodeterioration damages in heritage buildings is necessary to distinguish “normal” biodeterioration from biodeterioration caused by climate changes. The MBM panels are essential for possible establishment of causality between damages and climate change.

The authors believe that the methods described give the best possible grounds for future evaluation of damages and microclimatic conditions in buildings compared to changes in regional climatic conditions. Establishment of causality between climate change and development in biological deterioration is still a challenging task.

THE Biodeterioration Information Centre (BIC) was set up at the University of Aston in Birmingham in May 1965, aided by a grant from the Office for Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), to collect, process and disseminate information in the field of biodeterioration. Practical research is also carried out at the centre and a close association exists between the research and information work.

Discusses the paradox of the desire for petroleum products to resist degradation in use and yet be readily biodegradable as waste products. Offers four suggestions on how to reduce microbial susceptibility in use.

Buildings respond differently to microbial invasion depending on the design, type of construction materials and finishes used and extent of exposure to climatic factors. However, in the hot-humid tropical environment of Nigeria, much is not known about how buildings with different types of façade finishes or claddings are liable to microbial decay. The purpose of this research is to investigate the susceptibility of buildings with different types of façade finishes to microbial decay in Enugu metropolis, southeast Nigeria.

A survey involving physical observation of purposively selected 383 buildings and questionnaire administration to their owners was carried out in the study area. The data were subjected to descriptive and logistic regression analyses.

Most of the 383 buildings sampled were less than 41 year and 47% of them had painted façade finishes followed by 25.1% with cementitious finishes. Around 63.4% of the buildings had their façade finishes or claddings colonised by microbes. Older buildings of 15 years and above and those with cementitious materials and paints as their predominant façade finishes were more likely to experience microbial decay than newer ones and those having refractory bricks, ceramic tiles, aluminium composite materials and plastics/polymers as their predominant façade finishes or claddings.

The study identifies the categories of buildings that are likely to be more susceptible to microbial decay; and thus contributes to research on how to slow down the rate of biodeterioration of building façade finishes or claddings in the hot-humid tropical environments.

This is the first study on the susceptibility of buildings with different types of façade finishes or claddings to microbial decay in the hot-humid tropical environment of Enugu metropolis, southeast Nigeria. It also provides a clue on the age at which buildings become more vulnerable to microbial decay in the study area.

The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of research on the various biological agents that could cause deterioration of paper materials and possible intervention strategies against these biotic agents in the tropics.

Recent literature in the tropics is reviewed to gain insight into the problems that confront libraries in the tropics as regards the biological deterioration of library materials.

The paper identifies moulds as the most important biodeteriorating agents of library materials. In addition to destroying, disfiguring and staining books, the moulds have been linked to numerous adverse human health effects that fall into three categories: allergic, toxic and infectious. The other biological agents include bacteria, insects and rodents. The important insects in tropical environment are cockroaches and termites. The warm humid tropical conditions and dirty environment trigger/promote biodeterioration processes and make book deterioration to be more pronounced in the tropics than in the temperate regions.

Physical visits to the libraries were not carried out and the conclusions reached were based on evidence from scientific literature on the subject in the tropics.

A very useful source of information on how to curb the menace of biological agents against the destruction of library materials in the tropics. These include training programmes for library staff on conservation and preservation of library collections, the creation of awareness on the issue among library users, the adoption of good house keeping practices and modification of storage environment to make them unsuitable for the biodeteriogens. It is recommended that libraries and archives in tropical countries should have preservation guidelines and integrated pest management teams and should also cooperate with scientists in relevant disciplines to be able to find lasting solutions to the problem of biodeterioration of library materials.

This paper looks into the neglected area of biological deterioration of papers which is the main information carrier in libraries. It provides very useful and practical suggestions that libraries in the tropics could adopt to tackle the menace of biological agents.

In Norway the most critical effects of climate change are predicted to be increased rain and snow, higher temperatures, increased wind loads, and sea‐level rise. This will increase the number of floods and landslides, along with more cycles around the freezing point and increased exposure to high moisture. The main issue for protecting Norway's historical monuments from climate change is how to be aware of and how to handle the coming problems. One challenge is to define and give this information to heritage owners and local authorities. The purpose of this paper is to describe some of the practical threats related to climate change, and provide suggestions for mitigation and adaption strategies.

Theoretical information of the problem is useful at a general level, but the practical impact has to be used at a local level. Improved knowledge about the risks for deterioration at different exposure levels, thorough surveys, and practical solutions, can significantly reduce the negative effects. This knowledge must reach the people that have local and daily contact with the cultural heritage. Information to the owners and responsible authorities about the normal risk of deterioration and how to identify risks related to climate change is crucial.

The main results of the authors' work is a methodology dealing with the problem step‐by‐step production of a web‐site based on fact sheets for heritage owners and managers. The fact sheets are divided amongst different subjects and are designed to be informative and easy to use for owners and responsible authorities.

The results presented in this paper will increase the knowledge of how owners of cultural heritage can be prepared for climate change on a practical, hands‐on level. This can, for example, be done by a brief overall analysis of the threats of the cultural heritage in a specific municipality. The analysis can be summarised in a list of increased possible risks, with direct practical information given to those needing it, and placed online. This would enable detection of and reaction to warning signs of an unusual situation. Information, training and production of both general and specific plans for action in case of extreme situations are also important in order to prevent the negative effects of climate change.

This research examines the association of physical development density, prevalence and types of microbes in colonized façade finishes of buildings in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria.

Survey and experimental research designs were adopted. A total of 383 buildings were investigated with samples collected from those with colonized façade finishes. The microbes were identified using the standard procedure for genomic sequencing with descriptive statistics, and the chi-square test used to analyse the data.

The results revealed a 64% prevalence of microbial colonization and a significant association between this and physical development density with 71.0% of the colonized buildings located in high-density neighbourhoods of the metropolis. The sequencing also showed 24 different microbes with Trichophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichoderma harzianum species being the most common in the colonized façade finishes.

The research informs building professionals and owners of the specific microbes involved in the colonization of façade finishes of buildings in high-density urban areas. It also provides a clue about the nature of damages and defects associated with microbial colonization of building façades and the type of biocide additives required for the production of microbial-resistant façade finishes in the hot-humid tropical environment of Nigeria and beyond.

The study has shown that there is a significant relationship between the intensity of urban land use and microbial colonization of façade finishes of buildings. It also identified some new or less known microbes responsible for the biodeterioration of façade finishes and the effects this has on the buildings and public health in the hot-humid tropics of Enugu, Southeast Nigeria.

The distinctive trend in the quest for environmentally‐friendly wood preservatives and coatings towards water‐based formulations represents a challenge to the manufacturer and the raw material supplier alike to ensure that they offer the in‐use performance equivalent to that of solvent‐borne formulations. Explains that, in addition to the common need for fungicidal and algicidal protection of the dry film, the requirements for biocidal protection of water‐borne products are different from those of solvent‐based formulations in one key respect, the need for in‐can or wet‐state protection. Details the effects that micro‐organisms can produce in and on inadequately protected coatings and the physical and biological measures that can be undertaken to remedy and prevent such effects. Compares the necessary properties of biocides for wet‐state and dry‐film protection, and gives an appraisal of several biocide types.