February 2014 Luncheon Meeting

Speaker: Tony McGuire

“Library and Museum Nemesises Beware! Anecdotes from Years as a Major Mold and Mite Enemy

Come and hear how Union League Club member, Tony McGuire, went from Young Engineer of the Year (1976) to Founder and CEO of McGuire Engineering, a successful heating, air conditioning and plumbing firm that specializes in cutting-edge technology that provides climate control plans for libraries, museums and private collectors, worldwide. Tony will talk about stress and his job to keep books and art objects from being stressed and, if so, to alleviate the pressure, all the while taking into account, light, humidity, temperature, water, vermin, mold and insects. Hear about the open-window policy at the Vatican Library, how did a "buffer room" solve the problem at the Field Museum, how a 900 year old outdoor Irish church sculpture proves that sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something. Learn about the absolute necessity of a "sharing" Professional Organization as one engages in invent-as-you-go technology. Strategies for private collectors will include: the best temperature and humidity for collections and the least stressful way to turn pages.


Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Boulevard. Luncheon buffet (in the main dining room on six) opens at 11:30 am; program (in a different room, to be announced) 12:30-1:30