The story line of the studies on airborne contamination in museums and historical libraries related to biodeterioration and health of operators and visitors

Roberto Albertini; Mostafa Mohieldin Mahgoub Ibrahim; Alessia  Coluccia; Maria Eugenia Colucci; Paola Affanni; Roberta Zoni; Licia Veronesi; Giovanna Pasquariello; Cesira Pasquarella

doi:10.23750/abm.v95i2.15398

The story line of the studies on airborne contamination in museums and historical libraries related to biodeterioration and health of operators and visitors

Authors

Roberto Albertini 1Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; 2Unit of Medicina Interna di Continuità, University Hospital of Parma, Italy
Mostafa Mohieldin Mahgoub Ibrahim Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Alessia Coluccia Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Maria Eugenia Colucci Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Paola Affanni Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Roberta Zoni Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Licia Veronesi Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Giovanna Pasquariello Former Director of the Biology and Environmental Controls Laboratory, Central Institute for Graphic Arts, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Rome, Italy
Cesira Pasquarella Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v95i2.15398

Keywords:

Cultural heritage, biodeterioration, health, airborne microbial contamination, sampling, preventive conservation

Abstract

Background and aim: In cultural-heritage-related indoor environments, biological particles represent a hazard not only for cultural property, but also for operators and visitors. The effectiveness of conservation for indoor cultural heritage and the health of operators and visitors derives from appropriate control and management. This study aimed to analyse the scientific community's activity on airborne contamination in indoor cultural heritage related to biological risks for artifacts, staff, and users to sensibilize insiders and decision makers about the importance of knowledge on this topic. Methods: We searched in Scopus for articles reporting the words “libraries or museums and air/airborne contamination” in the article title or abstract or keywords. Articles written in all languages were considered and crosschecked with related issues. Results: A total of 206 documents concerning the biodeterioration of libraries, or museums have been found since 1977 of which 155 were original articles. United States, Italy, Poland, China and United Kingdom were the countries most involved in this research. A total of 47 documents investigated microbial air/airborne contamination in libraries, or museums, and Italy appeared in the first five countries, with the publication of some papers proposing multidisciplinary approaches for sampling and analysis of data. Conclusions: Our study can represent a contribution towards the studies on biological air quality of indoor cultural heritage for libraries, and museums. It is necessary to promote and support the research on this topic with a multidisciplinary and One Health approach, considering that a healthy environment for humans is equally healthy for artworks.

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