| PF-271970-20 | Preservation and Access: Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections | University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc. | Improving energy efficiency in collection storage in Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas | 10/1/2020 - 3/31/2023 | $350,000.00 | Whitney | | Baker | | | | University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc. | Lawrence | KS | 66045-3101 | USA | 2020 | Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections | Preservation and Access | 350000 | 0 | 350000 | 0 | The updating of a 1968 heating and air-conditioning system in Spencer Library to provide a more optimal preservation environment for the university’s collection of rare books and manuscripts, while achieving a significant reduction in overall energy costs for the building.
The University of Kansas Libraries requests funds to implement some of the recommendations provided by environmental consultants who conducted environmental testing on Spencer Library's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system over 18 months during a 2017-2019 planning grant. In this implementation grant, the second phase of a multi-phased project, the Libraries hope to replace obsolete, 1968-era pneumatically controlled reheats in the ceilings of collection areas of the building with modern electric reheats, variable air volume (VAV) dampers, and new direct digital controls (DDC). At the beginning and end of the project, testing and balancing will be conducted to ensure that the installed equipment is working properly. The new devices will be significantly more energy efficient, individually controllable and serviceable by technicians, and will provide a more optimal preservation environment for Spencer’s collections. |