CONCENTRACIÓN Y COMPOSICIÓN MICROBIANA EN EL AMBIENTE DE LA BIBLIOTECA CENTRAL JORGE PALACIOS PRECIADO DE LA UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA Y TECNOLÓGICA DE COLOMBIA, TUNJA, COLOMBIA/MICROBIAL CONCENTRATION AND COMPOSITION IN THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE JORGE PALACIOS PRECIADO CENTRAL LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA Y TECNOLÓGICA DE COLOMBIA, TUNJA, COLOMBIA

Microorganisms, spores, acari, and pollen are natural components of indoor air and they may be transported from the outdoor air by aerobiological particles that settle on dust and cause the biodeterioration of various materials, in addition to representing a risk for human health. In this study, we evaluated the microbial concentration in the environment of the "Jorge Palacios Preciado" Central Library of the Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnol...gica of Colombia. Microbial density of this environment was found to be within sanitary levels accepted for environments of public buildings, and the greatest diversity was comprised of filamentous fungi, with 34 genera identified, along with a fungal group from the Class Phycomycetes, with Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Paecilomyces spores the most frequent in the library. Taking into account the microbial genera isolated and recent research results, the environment of the Central Library may pose a health risk to people, mainly at the respiratory level, if measures are not taken to clean and to modify the ventilation system.