I have taken it upon myself to build up a collection of neat, political memoirs that I have personally gotten signed by the authors. So far, I have Bill Clinton (woo!) and Joe Wilson- not a bad start, if I may say so myself.
Anywho, the Clinton book was read and is now sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust- lots of it. I can’t help but think that, even with regular dustings, I am letting a perfectly good book deteriorate.
So, what is the best way to store my books? I like having them out on my bookshelf to look at, but is there something I should wrap them in? Should I put them in a case of some sort?
One of the first things to think about is the quality of the book to begin with. You’ll notice that no matter what you do cheap paperback books will turn yellow and brittle in time (newspaper even sooner), because they’re made from cheap, highly acidic paper.
Hardcover books should easily last longer (unless they are made from cheap paper as well - if you really want a book to last a long time check to see if it’s printed on acid-free paper, there is usually a notation and symbol (I’ve seen the infinity symbol used) on the title page).
As for care and feeding, keep them out of strong light (or sunlight), keep them dry but not too dry (archives are usually maintained at 70 degrees, 50% humidity - colder is sometimes better, but hard for people to work in), and dust free is good. There are bookshelves with doors, glass and otherwise.
There is some debate about wrapping paper good in plastic, sometimes there are elements in the book that might off gas and make things worse if the plastic is air tight. I would say as long as you have the dust jacket and you keep things relatively clean and stable the books should have no trouble lasting your lifetime (assuming they weren’t printed on nasty acidic paper).
Google the company Light Impressions. They deal mainly with photography, but I think have some archival material for other media. Also, check with your state’s archivist. They might have some stuff online or that can be mailed, or heck, they probably don’t get lots of phone calls.
If you want to help preserve them but like to look at them, consider buying them a glass-fronted cabinet (place away from direct sunlight as already mentioned). Conservationists at the British Museum were suprised to discover the degree to which a simple cabinet – not “archival” or airtight in any way – mediated against changes in temperature and humidity.
Also, if you want them to stay nice, don’t touch them with bare hands. Grease and bits of skin from your hands is damaging to books. Buy a pair of light cotton gloves for those times when you wish to handle your books. I’m sure Light Impressions would offer something suitable.
Hi, this probably isn’t as fancy and professional as the tailored products you can buy, but I sell antiquarian/ second hand books and when we need to store them for a while we wrap them tightly in freezer bags (the special plastic bags that are available for wrapping up food in fridges/freezers). Because they’re waterproof and acid-free. Works fantastically.
My biggest issue is that the Clinton book has quite a bit of dust along the top of the pages even though I regularly dust. Should I just toss some plastic wrap over the top and hope for the best?
Also worth considering is the risk of catastrphic damage, from fire, flood (including burst pipes), etc. An archivist I’ve spoken to has said that old-fashioned cardboard archival boxes have been proven to protect paper from smoke damage, and from the levels of water expected in firefighting - although not from actual standing-water flood situations.