This study aimed to obtain basic information on the indoor environmental hygiene of non-disinfected libraries used for paper records preservation in the Nara Repository of National Archives, Korea. Microorganisms were investigated in dust samples collected from bookshelves of five libraries using the swab method. Bacterial concentration ranged from 6 CFU/m2 up to 1,730 CFU/m2 . A total of 11 bacterial species belonging to five genera were identified, with Bacillus being the predominant genus. Some bacterial species forming colonies with pigmentation on TSA media were also present. No bacterial species capable of producing cellulases were found. However, one species that could have harmful effects on human health was discovered. For fungi, concentration ranged between 6 CFU/m2 to 1,660 CFU/m2, and a total of six fungal species belonging to five genera were found. Some fungal species forming pigmented colonies on PDA media were also present. Additionally, three species that could have harmful effects on human health were identified. This study’s data suggests that microbial contamination in the dust is relatively low, but the dust in the bookshelves of non-disinfected libraries at the Nara Repository requires management. This is the first report conducted on microorganisms in the dust of bookshelves at the National Archives in Korea.

Fungi are organisms that must be monitored and controlled in order to preserve valuable paper records. They reduce the quality of paper records by degradation and/or discoloration. As an effort to understand fungal contamination in the National Archives of Korea, the concentration of fungi in the indoor air of the unsterilized record rooms has been reported. However, what species are present in the facilities is not much known. In the present study, we examined the fungi isolated from the National Archives of Korea and found among them that there are fungal species which are newly documented in Korea. They were identified based on morphological properties and nucleotide sequences analysis of the polymerase chain reaction-amplified the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA, calmodulin gene, and beta-tubulin gene. We report Cladosporium parahalotolerans, Cladosporium subuliforme, Ochroconis mirabilis, Penicillium angulare, and Penicillium fundyense as new instances of fungal species in Korea. Among these five species, P. angulare is known to able to produce cellulase and O. mirabilis as an opportunistic pathogen of human and animals.

종이기록물 보관 시 해충에 의한 직, 간접적인 피해예방을 위하여 소독약제, 소독방법에 따른 살충효과를 검증하여, 종이기록물 소독처리의 경제성, 소독효과 및 소독표준화 시스템 개발을 위한 기초 자료를 얻고자 하였다. 사용된 공시충은 화랑곡나방(Plodia interpunctella) 유충, 거짓쌀도둑거저리(Triboilium castaneum) 성충 및 유충, 어리쌀바구미(Sitophilus zeamais) 성충 등으로 종이 묶음책 내부에 이들 공시충을 투입하고 국가기록원 원내 지침에 따라 약제별, 처리시간 별 소독처리한 결과, 약제 무처리구에서는 처리위치(상, 중, 하단)에 상관없이 치사율이 0% 이었으며, B사 약제 20시간 처리 경우 화랑곡나방 유충은 치사수가 4~8마리, 거짓쌀도둑거저리 유충과 성충은 2~5마리, 약제에 노출된 경우 4~15마리의 치사수를 나타냈고 어리쌀바구미 성충의 경우 약제 노출된 처리구에서만 15마리의 치사수를 보였다. E사 약제처리의 경우 처리시간에 따른 살충효과는 크게 차이가 나지 않았으며 치사수는 1~6마리 범위였고, 약제에 노출된 경우 어리쌀바구미 성충에서만 16~20 마리 범위의 높은 치사수를 보였다. 약제 처리 후 치사율 조사는 처리직후, 12시간, 48시간 간격으로 이루어져 약제에 대한 Knock-down 저항성 발현여부도 조사하였다. 이러한 결과는 약제에 직접 해충이 노출되지 않고 책 내부에 해충이 서식할 경우 2종류 처리약제 모두에서 만족스러운 살충효과를 기대 할 수 없으며, 약제에 직접 노출된 경우라 하더라도 해충의 종류에 따라 살충효과 크게 달라질 수 있음을 보여 주었다.