Although it appears to have finally stopped raining in Sydney, the recent moisture levels have not been kind to our book collections or our home libraries. In 1880 William Blades, author of The enemies of books, wrote “Treat books as you should your own children, who are sure to sicken if confined in an atmosphere which is impure, too hot, too cold, too damp or too dry”. Apart from fire, water (both in the forms of liquid and vapour ) is the biggest enemy to our precious collections, and we have certainly been getting it in both forms in Sydney of late. Whether you own volumes which are the envy of the Bodleian Library, or a rather more modest selection that you are caring for in order to hand down to the grand children, care must be taken in order to preserve and protect them.
If you are lucky enough to not have your collection hanging from the washing line as we speak, but may be experiencing a musty smell and fuzzy spores are appearing on your books, then action is required. Mildew develops due to poor air circulation and too much humidity. Mould spores can be lightly vacuumed off and can be prevented by keeping relative humidity below 70%, the closer to 50% the better. Air con units help climate control but during those periods of high RH you really require a dehumidifier. If your beloved Tomes are wet, but not saturated, they can be placed on unprinted newspaper and fan dried, placing paper towels or the unprinted newspaper inside the books about every 40-50 pages. When they are relatively dry they can be weighted down and finished off with the fan. Soft covered books can be hung out to dry, but not in direct sun. They prefer not too much light and not too much heat.
On the other hand, books are happy in relatively cold and humid conditions, although this should not be carried too far. It is when they are moved abruptly from one environmental condition to another that problems are most likely to appear. If your books are wringing wet, you may want to consider using the experts and have them freeze or vacuum dried. Vacuum drying directly converts the ice to vapour, and also kills any beetles or insects at all stages of development Regular maintenance should normally involve little more than removing dust from the top edges of books, where it invariably settles. This is best done with a vacuum cleaner, with a piece of cheesecloth across the end as a filter to stop anything valuable going down the tube. Leather bindings may be oiled occasionally if kept in dry conditions, but more damage will be the quality of book production has been through various historical cycles.
The period between 1850 and 1900 was responsible for poor, acidic paper and weak bindings, often intended to make a cheap but showy product, but books from other periods ought to withstand both time and usage. Everyday handling basically comes down to some good old common sense, clean hands, thin book marks, don’t wedge books too tightly into shelves , make book storage areas food and drink free areas-especially were small children are concerned. Don’t force books open, turn the pages gently and keep acidic materials away. A few simple rules can extend the life of your collection considerably.
Love books? Watch Stan Lane, a master Typesetter and Printer, talk about the process of printing our Letterpress Shakespeare series.
Happy reading!
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