Though much of the work on microbiology of the built environment focuses on health in some way, there are other reasons to be interested in “Who are the microbes in your neighborhood.” One of them is discussed in this paper: Trends in Microbiology : Scripta manent? Assessing microbial risk to paper heritage.
Microbes in the indoor environment contribute to decay of paper, art and other materials. Knowing more about the microbial ecology of buildings may help in protecting our cultural heritage.