BS 5454
For archival and library collections (the original sector at which 5454 was aimed), a reviewed standard, BS 4971, was released in 2017.The language of EN 16893 and its environmental requirements push the sector towards ceasing to use HVAC systems for environmental control and instead to commission storage construction to be air-tight and thermally stable and thereby provide very slow changing humidity conditions seasonally without the need for HVAC systems which, over the decades since BS 5454:1989, had proven to be a failure at protecting collections.BS 4971:2017 Conservation and care of archive and library collections takes the same approach and references EN 16893 for construction qualities.The fire, water and security resistance qualities of buildings containing all heritage forms are now covered in EN 16893, as in the old BS 5454, but reviewed and updated.The new standard also takes over the planning and decision-making elements from another BS Guide, PAS 198:2012, promoting a risk-assessment approach to defining the protective qualities of heritage stores and display or reading spaces.