Preservation of the cultural heritage of museums includes measures to prevent degrading effects induced by air temperature and humidity factors which are difficult to control. The present paper includes a synopsis of values of air temperature and relative humidity characterizing the indoor climate of the “Poni-Cernătescu” Museum of Iași, Romania for a period of one year. The objective of this research was to describe the museum microclimate and to identify and analyze the degradation risk of museum artifacts in order to study the impact of hygrothermal indoor and outdoor loads on indoor microclimate parameters. To achieve the objective, the following activities were carried out: acquisition of data on the relative humidity and the temperature of indoor and outdoor air; analysis of data with climate analysis tools and statistical methods; and transformation of data into quantitative and qualitative numerical measures of collection decay risks. The collected data enabled us to accurately describe the indoor climate conditions of the analyzed building. The main conclusions of the assessment were that the May–July period represented the interval with the highest degradation risk for all types of cultural assets (wood, leather, photos and paintings); this occurred because of the combination of a high amount of water vapor and high air temperature conditions. Based on charts and tabular data, this study presents the evolution of two parameters of internal microclimate, air temperature and relative humidity, and their correlation with external climate factors. The structural and functional parameters of the museum, the working levels of heating and air conditioning systems, the arrangement, the load, and the typological complexity of the artifacts displayed, were also considered in the analysis. The results obtained enabled us to develop useful recommendations to stabilize climate conditions inside the museum. Specific measures to mitigate the detrimental impact of the analyzed environmental factors are proposed. The results obtained show that in the basement, favorable conditions for mycelium growth occurred. In the summer months, across the entire museum space, the preservation indices were the lowest, from 20 to 25, so suitable conditions for storing the artifacts were not met.

The paper explores the potentiality of an experimental multianalytic protocol with appropriate methodology for determining the chemical and morphostructural characteristics of two old documents on parchment support. Such a protocol can authenticate and assess the state of conservation under the influence of environmental factors during storage and archival documentation, thus advancing preventive and prophylactic measures in “treasure” deposits such as the National Archives of Romania, where these documents are kept. The work methodology consisted of three stages. The first stage consists of visual observation for identifying deteriorations and degradations, alongside the selection of representatives’ areas from where micro-samples were collected. The second stage involves Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (SEM-EDX) analysis, for highlighting the morphology and determining the elemental composition; lastly, the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and correlation of results establish the chemical and morphostructural changes. The use of this gradual system of analyses allowed determining the differences between these two documents in terms of the materials used for producing them, their manufacturing technologies, the writing and ornamentation, and the overall state of conservation. The results provided the first accurate picture of the chemical nature and manufacturing of the two parchment documents by determining the main characteristics of the collagen and of the finishing, writing, and decoration materials, in view of the natural aging through the oxidative and gelatinization processes of the collagen. The SEM-EDX results revealed the morphological changes of the parchment that occurred at various levels in the collagen fibrous mesh and established the state of conservation of the support, writing, and decorations.

An important step in the conservation of old paper documents is the analysis of both the medium and the ink, in an attempt first to determine the extent of deterioration and degradation and then to choose the best preservation and restoration solutions. Our paper focuses on the analysis of three old documents displayed at the ‘Poni-Cernătescu’ Museum in Iaşi City, Romania by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), micro-FTIR spectroscopy and FT-Raman. Thus, the morphology and chemical composition of the paper media and the type of ink, as well as the cellulose crystallinity index were determined. PCA (Principal Component Analysis) was also used while relying on spectra collected by FTIR spectroscopy. We were able to determine the extent of degradation of the documents by corroborating all these findings.