Revising and developing the environmental policy at the British Library

To preserve their collections, heritage institutions must understand and mitigatecauses of damage, including environmental factors. Historically at the British Librarythis was addressed by policies developed over decades—frequently without overarch-ing guidance—and in response to changing requirements. As a result, these policieswere often disjointed, complex and unrepresentative of current practice. This articleaddresses the review, revision and application of policy. This is informed by a focuson collection needs that incorporate human, operational and practical requirements;the pragmatic understanding of contributory issues; and sufficient flexibility to encou-rage engagement and support Library activities without jeopardising collection safety.The revised policy has afforded a variety of benefits, not least that it is a single, concisedocument. It provides explicit reference to material types and vulnerabilities, and therequirements of operational activities, emphasising preventive conservation concerns.It is accessible to other stakeholders, encouraging effective collaboration and leadingto achievable outcomes, benefitting the institution as a whole. As such it has strength-ened the role of preventive conservation within the Library, and provided a solid andadaptable basis for future work.