The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 53, December 18, 2005, Article 14

MORE LITERATURE CONSERVATION TIPS

Anne Bentley writes: "After 25 years as conservator
at the MHS, I've seen just about everything a human
being can do to kill a book...believe me, it's not
pretty!

Some quick pointers for your readers to give them
years of enjoyment from their libraries:

Store "heavy" books flat: upright storage, even with
good bookends, can result in the text pulling away
from the binding.

When removing books from the shelf, don't use the headband
to pull the book from the shelf. Instead, shove the adjacent
books back a bit and pull the book straight out (thumb and
fingers holding it by the boards)

Don't let rubber bands anywhere near anything you plan to
keep.  If you have rubber bands on things, use scissors to
cut them off so you don't damage anything by the friction
of pulling them off.

Don't use self adhesive tapes of any kind on your books...
even the so=called "conservation tape" is pretty irreversable
after awhile.

If you need to hold body and soul together, tie the
item with 100% unbleached cotton twill tape. If you tie
it like a present, with the bow either on the top or fore
edge, the knot and bow won't damage books alongside the
tied one.

If you stuff extra material in your books, you will
eventually break the binding.  We place additional
material in archival envelopes alongside the volume.

Don't save your place by folding down pages or using
"Post-its."  A simple flat paper marker is easier on
the book and just as handy.

For those of you who use bookplates, remember that you
only paste down the whole plate on hard covers: for
paperbacks, tip the plate into the front cover...use a
thin line of adhesive on the back, right hand edge, then
stick the plate onto the inside front cover as close to
the shoulder as possible. Do check to find archival (ie-
reversable in water and neutral pH) adhesive: lots of
craft stores carry it now under various brand names,
so it shouldn't be difficult.

For excellent information on collections preservation,
check out the Library of Congress conservation pages at
Library of Congress

To see the sort of archival storage materials available,
check out Conservators On Line' listings at
Conservators On Line

I hope this answered a few questions.
Season's Greetings to all!"

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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