Joyce, most of us don't keep our stuff in vaults. We try to have space 
that is secure, with stable temperature and humidity, and reasonable 
fire protection, and work from there. Have you contacted your state 
archives:( http://www.mainemuseums.org/index.htm,) or your state 
archival association for assistance?
Maine Archives & Museums  (http://www.mainemuseums.org/index.htm)
Karen Morgan, University Archives, University of Michigan-Dearborn, 
Dearborn, MI

Eric v.d. Luft, Ph.D., M.L.S., Curator of Historical Collections wrote:

>>     Our small Historical Soc. needs to build a vault for our 
>> documents, etc. and for the Town's records.  Could any of you direct 
>> us to sources for architectural plans?
>> Any ideas, thoughts, 'definitely don't do's ' , etc. would also be 
>> helpful.
>>     We are a small town (approx 800 ) in coastal Maine.  I know that 
>> we can spend many thousands of $ for such a vault.  Our society 
>> doesn't have a large budget and no endowments as yet.  We were formed 
>> in 2000 and so are just beginning.  Our goal has been to begin 
>> carefully and slowly and do things as correctly as possible from the 
>> start.
>>     The possibilities for grants are something we need to explore 
>> also, if anyone has ideas on that.
>
>
> Joyce, a good vault must be all of the following:
>
> 1. Fireproof, i.e., not made of wood.
> 2. Dark and windowless.
> 3. On a middle floor.
> 4. Temperature controlled, always less than 68 degrees F.
> 5. Humidity controlled, always about 45% RH.
> 6. Positive-pressured and filtered through a closed system HVAC, to 
> prevent dust buildup.
>
> I hope this helps!
>
> Eric
>
> Eric v.d. Luft, Ph.D., M.L.S.
> Curator of Historical Collections, Health Sciences Library
> Lecturer, Center for Bioethics and Humanities
> SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210
> <http://www.upstate.edu/library/history/> -- 315-464-4585
> Owner, Gegensatz Press <http://www.gegensatzpress.com/>
>
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