Developing a categorical climate risk assessment scale for archival institutions: a GIS-based pilot study from the PROTECCT-GLAM project

Cultural heritage institutions, including archives, face significant and increasing climate-change-related threats. This paper presents a pilot study from the Providing Risk of the Environment’s Changing Climate Threats for Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (PROTECCT-GLAM) project. Focused on the United States Gulf Coast region, the study applies an advanced Geographic Information System analysis to assess county-level risk for archival institutions based on two climate variables: Flash Flood Warnings and Tropical Cyclone Wind occurrence. Based on historical data, the study developed a novel A-F grading scale to categorize risk. The pilot study successfully validated the methodological framework for integrating multi-hazard climate data and translating complex climate information into an intuitive, actionable, risk assessment tool for archival professionals. GLAMs within Louisiana and Mississippi are the most at-risk from these variables when compared to other states in the study region.