On the Preservation of Books
The Player of Games recently asked me a question that I'd not thought too much about. He asked how I keep my books from yellowing.
Over forty years of book-collecting, I've learnt that cheap books will crumble within your lifetime, or even half your lifetime (one has to be optimistic). But there are some things that retard the aging process for common stuff in a tropical environment.
Here are some things that seem to work. But many of you probably know of them already, and may have some of your own to share. (If you do, please comment!)
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To keep tomes from yellowing, keep them in air-conditioned dim rooms. This keeps humidity normal, since the local humidity usually ranges from 40%-85%. Lighting should be low-energy, like diffuse yellow stuff; indirect and not focussed on the books themselves. The human eye works best in low-light conditions anyway.
Like oxidation of metal, oxidation of books is fastest when energy, oxygen and water are present in large quantities. Take away the damp and the heat (or light), and the paper lasts longer. Note however that total dryness will age books too, by dehydration of the bulk material.
I find that dusting books with those Magiclean lint-free disposable cloths is best. Never use damp material, and if you are cleaning shelves, use a dust-lifting soapy solution and make sure all the dirt and soap are removed, and the shelves completely dried, before putting books back.
Leave rows of books with at least 1 cm of breathing space in between. If you pack books very tightly, heat is not so easily dispersed. If you leave too much space, dust accumulates.
Books near the roof get more heat because of conduction and convection. Try to have one of those dead insulating spaces or a well-ventilated open space between your top shelf and the ceiling. Of course, open space also collects dust.
I have a catalogue of about 8,000 books of all shapes and sizes. My immediate male ancestor has more. This makes for a house that somehow was never completely tidy at its best, and is now not even anywhere near its best — since I moved out, my progenitor has expanded his territory and I have transferred most of my holdings into the West. Thank goodness we got rid of all the Reader's Digests.
Be careful, all ye who seek to make yourselves a library. The life of a librarian is not an easy one, whether accidental or incidental.
Over forty years of book-collecting, I've learnt that cheap books will crumble within your lifetime, or even half your lifetime (one has to be optimistic). But there are some things that retard the aging process for common stuff in a tropical environment.
Here are some things that seem to work. But many of you probably know of them already, and may have some of your own to share. (If you do, please comment!)
=====
To keep tomes from yellowing, keep them in air-conditioned dim rooms. This keeps humidity normal, since the local humidity usually ranges from 40%-85%. Lighting should be low-energy, like diffuse yellow stuff; indirect and not focussed on the books themselves. The human eye works best in low-light conditions anyway.
Like oxidation of metal, oxidation of books is fastest when energy, oxygen and water are present in large quantities. Take away the damp and the heat (or light), and the paper lasts longer. Note however that total dryness will age books too, by dehydration of the bulk material.
I find that dusting books with those Magiclean lint-free disposable cloths is best. Never use damp material, and if you are cleaning shelves, use a dust-lifting soapy solution and make sure all the dirt and soap are removed, and the shelves completely dried, before putting books back.
Leave rows of books with at least 1 cm of breathing space in between. If you pack books very tightly, heat is not so easily dispersed. If you leave too much space, dust accumulates.
Books near the roof get more heat because of conduction and convection. Try to have one of those dead insulating spaces or a well-ventilated open space between your top shelf and the ceiling. Of course, open space also collects dust.
I have a catalogue of about 8,000 books of all shapes and sizes. My immediate male ancestor has more. This makes for a house that somehow was never completely tidy at its best, and is now not even anywhere near its best — since I moved out, my progenitor has expanded his territory and I have transferred most of my holdings into the West. Thank goodness we got rid of all the Reader's Digests.
Be careful, all ye who seek to make yourselves a library. The life of a librarian is not an easy one, whether accidental or incidental.
etched with acid at 5:49:00 pm
2 Comments:
Which is why I'm trying to replace what I can with digital copies, legal or otherwise.
Digital copies require digital readers; physical copies in text format require only the human senses. This is one reason why I maintain a text library.
Another reason why I maintain a text library is that it makes use of the powerful network in my cranium to maintain constantly fluctuating links between the different portable information units called books. Hyperlinks are not so flexible, although they are also a good adjunct. But the physical form allows compartmentalisation while keeping the brain free to associate.
Don't worry though, I'm no Luddite... :)
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