The Problem of Light in Duke Humfrey's Library

Abstract

Summary Duke Humfrey's Library is a building of architectural importance, with a dual function as a storage area for historic printed book collections and as a reading room for manuscript and reference material. Following an outbreak of death-watch beetle, new measures of light control were installed whilst other remedial building work was in progress. The windows were of complex design, with intricate stone tracery and leaded lights. After some research into alternative methods of light control, the glass was fitted with UV filters, and blinds of a translucent mesh fabric were installed on all but the largest window. Fixed panels of the same fabric were fitted to the stone curved heads of the windows. New artificial lighting was introduced to improve the ambient lighting and to provide better task lighting for readers. The new measures would need to be evaluated to see if they were effective.