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Protect your books so they can be enjoyed

Some books can be repaired, but some damage could ruin your treasured read

LAURA CHURCHILL DUKE SPECIAL TO SALTWIRE NETWORK lauracd@ns.sympatico.ca

There is that special book in your collection, but it smells mouldy or has some ripped pages. It’s too precious to you to throw out, so is there any way you can salvage it?

Wendy Robicheau knows. She is an archivist with the Esther Clark Wright Archives at Acadia University in Wolfville. When she looks at books, she does so with an archivist lens, with the idea of long-term preservation in mind.

Most people do not have books for preservation, as they want to use, read or display them, she said. Their aim is probably not to ensure those books are in good condition for more than 100 years.

Regardless, many of the tips and strategies work well with our own home book collections.

FORGET THE FABRIC SOFTENER DRYER SHEETS

One reader had heard that by putting a dryer sheet, like Bounce, between the pages, it would take away the musty smells of books. Robicheau advises against this, though.

Bounce sheets, she says, contain chemicals that will leech out and into the pressed pages.

“I see this as harmful to the paper and, if you put a sheet between each page, the book will double in size, putting stress on the spine,” Robicheau explained. “None of this is good for long-term preservation. I suspect paperbacks will not survive this process.

“Besides, do you want your book to absorb the Bounce sheet smell? I don’t want a perfume or unnatural smell on my book when I read it.”

KITTY LITTER TRICKS

Smells in books can be absorbed with kitty litter, said Robicheau. It is not an overnight process, so be prepared to lose access to that book for at least six months.

Let the book fall open, if possible, and put it on a tray inside a plastic bag. Spread the kitty litter around in the bag, but not on or over the book. Seal the bag. Leave it undisturbed for a few months. Check it. Repeat this process if you are still offended by any smell, suggested Robicheau.

OTHER TRICKS FOR GETTING RID OF BOOK ODOUR

Sunshine and fresh air does wonders for people and for books, said Robicheau. A light breeze and low humidity are best for this process.

Put the book on a flat surface, off the ground. Let the book fall open, if possible. Allow the breeze to blow over the pages.

This will blow off light smells easily; heavy smells like mildew might take a few days. Better yet, she suggested using kitty litter for a few months and then putting the book out on a sunny, breezy day to complement the process.

SALVAGING WET BOOKS

The first thing to realize is that wet and damp are two different things, noted Robicheau.

If the book is merely damp, use the sunshine and breeze method for air drying. Or, if the spine is strong enough, open it over the clothesline to breathe, she recommended.

If the book is wet, try to sop up as much water as possible without squeezing. Put it in the freezer to freeze dry. To do this, let the book fall open, if possible, on a tray that you put in the freezer. Check on the book after a short time because you don’t want to freeze the book, just dry it up. Take it out of the freezer and allow the air to evaporate off the rest of the water. Depending on how wet the pages are, you might need to try this a few times. But remember, the book will likely not be the same and may have wrinkled, torn, and stuck pages, she cautioned.

MOULD AND MILDEW

Mould cannot be neutralized, especially black mould, said Robicheau. If you find a mouldy book, she said to put on gloves and remove the book as soon as possible. That mould will spread to other books, so look for it in other books, too.

Remove them all. They cannot be saved. Dispose of them safely. Mildew, on the other hand, is smelly, but not harmful. It can spread between books, but that is usually because the books are all kept together, she noted.

Don’t put a mildew book with other books. Neutralize the smell using one of the methods above before putting the book on the shelf.

MENDING RIPPED PAGES

As an archivist, Robicheau’s rule is to leave a ripped page alone. All tapes, no matter how archival their quality, will have some harmful elements that damage the page.

If you do want to fix a favourite book’s pages, Robicheau suggested trying using book tape — never scotch tape as this will dry up and fall off anyway, leaving damaging elements.

“I also do not use elastics on anything,” she noted. “The rubber dries up and leaves behind damaging elements. I do not use staples as fasteners to pages. Not only do staples rip, they rust.”

PREVENTION — KEEPING OUR BOOKS SAFE

Water is the enemy of books, stated Robicheau, so the best thing to protect them is prevention. Don’t put your treasured books or albums on the bottom shelf. Normally, three inches off the floor is sufficient under normal circumstances; however, if you live in a flood zone then she suggested keeping them all in rubber totes.

Watch for signs of water leakage near the walls, floors and ceilings. Don’t put anything of value in that space, advised Robicheau.

Fire and water often go together. Libraries help prevent fire from spreading through the stacks by pushing the books on the shelves back by an inch or a half-inch. In this way, the fire cannot jump up between the shelves, grabbing the book spines.

Although compressing books together on a shelf is not good for preservation, it is good for fire. When you look at a compressed shelf of books after a fire, only the edges are singed and the inside of each book is unburnt. Fire needs oxygen and compressed books provide little fuel, explained Robicheau.

USE YOUR BOOKS

Overall, Robicheau said books are meant to be used and not admired.

“Yes, I am concerned with preservation of objects and of the information contained within that object,” she said. “Unless you are investing in preservation and the costs and considerations with it, then share your books.”

Their purpose of them is to be read. If you don't want it, let another person use or read the book.

HOW TO

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2022-08-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281986086329878

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