scope:

This code describes principles and practices of protection for cultural resource properties (including, but not limited to, museums, libraries, and places of worship), their contents, and collections, against conditions or physical situations with the potential to cause damage or loss.

This code covers ongoing operations and rehabilitation and acknowledges the need to preserve culturally significant and character-defining building features and sensitive, often irreplaceable, collections and to provide continuity of operations.

Principles and practices for life safety in cultural resource properties are outside the scope of this code. Where this code includes provisions for maintaining means of egress and controlling occupant load, it is to facilitate the evacuation of items of cultural significance, allow access for damage limitation teams in an emergency, and prevent damage to collections through overcrowding or as an unintended consequence of an emergency evacuation.

Library and museum collections that are privately owned and not open to the public shall not be required to meet the requirements of this code.

Purpose.

This code shall prescribe minimum requirements for the protection of cultural resource properties and their contents and collections from conditions or physical situations with the potential to cause damage or loss through a comprehensive protection program consistent with the organization's mission.

Because of the special nature of cultural resource properties, this code shall supplement existing codes and standards that apply specifically to buildings or portions of buildings devoted to such use.