5 Ways To Care for Your Books and Keep Them Preserved Longer
For those who love books, a good book is more like a friend
than a possession, something to be cared for and cherished. Others see a good
book as valuable only if it is used, almost abused, and shows the age and wear
of time and use. For these people, a good book should have a well-traveled
cover, creases in its spine, highlighting of enlightening passages, and dog
ears throughout. But for those who like to treat their books like treasures,
keeping them secure and intact, ready to read another day, proper book care is
important. Following are a number of tips to help you properly care for your
books, many of these gleaned from the annals of the United States Library of
Congress, arguably one of the greatest book repositories in the world.
Keep Your Books Clean
The Library of Congress houses a tremendous collection of
old books, and they know how to care for them. Their top suggestions for caring
for important books is to keep the books clean by always washing and drying
your hands before touching them and never keeping food or drink on the same
table, or above, your books. You also want to avoid oil (such as that found on
your fingertips) and dust, which can wear away bindings, glue, covers and
pages.
Avoid Humidity like the Plague
Humid conditions can give rise to a variety of molds and
bacteria, many of which thrive on paper and leather. While a little bit of
musty smell might feel comfortable and academic, the little microbes that cause
this old book smell are very damaging to your treasure troves of information.
Keep your books in a clean, dry place, preferably one that is temperature
controlled and always cool. But don't let them get too dry, like in an attic,
or the pages (and leather covers) can tear or even fall apart.
Handle with Care
We all love to buy new books, but caring for the old ones is
really more efficient, at least when it comes to those books that have meaning
for us. How you handle a book will promote its longevity. When you remove a
book from a shelf, for example, grab the book carefully and firmly, with your
hand wrapping around the spine, grasping cover to cover - never just pull at
the spine or you could dislodge or damage the binding. When you open the book,
especially an old hard cover, do not lay the book flat as this stresses the
spine. Instead, prop the front and back covers up so that the book is only
opened enough to read, not lying flat.
Pretend Your Books are Vampires
Light can have an extremely damaging effect on papers,
pigments and inks. Keep your most precious books out of direct sunlight. And
absolutely keep them away from open windows, ventilation shafts and other
drafts or sources of humidity and dust. Visit https://www.alduspress.com/
A Closed Cabinet is Best for the Cream of the Crop
How you store your books, as far as location and stacking,
is important. Lean your books on their side, straight up and down (not leaning
to one side), so they are perpendicular to the ground. Place like sized books
together so that the cover of each book is well supported against the next, and
use large book ends to ensure the same on the ends. One of the most important
things that you can do to keep your books protected is to place them in closed
cabinets, in temperature and humidity controlled rooms, at a height where you
must get a stool to access them, preventing anyone from idly grabbing a book
and thumbing through it.
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