This book on 'Bio-deterioration of Museum materials is the result of the research work I have done for my Ph.D at the Department of Museology of the M.S. University of Baroda and reference studies undertaken at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. and the International Bio-deterioration Research Centre at Birmingham, U.K. I was initiated into this study by my brother, K.S.S. Nair, when he was a Lecturer at the Department of Zoology, M.S. University of Baroda by making me interested to study the biology and feeding habits of Dermested Beetles which are serious pests of museum collections.
No studies on the bio-deterioration of cultural property were available and as such this was a pioneering effort in this field. I made extensive visit of museum collections in India, both on storage and display to locate, identify and study fungi and insects that bring about deterioration of objects.
The book is divided into seven chapters. These include organisms responsible for bio-deterioration, feeding response studies of some insect pests and the wise use of insecticides and fungicides. Extensive references to literature are also provided.
It is hoped that the book will be found useful by museum curators, conservators and other custodians of cultural property as well as students of Museology and Conservation. |
