GENERAL CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF

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GENERAL CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF BOOKS and OTHER
LIBRARY MATERIALS
Presentation by Joyce A. Brannan, Technical
Services Librarian, Julia Tutwiler Library,
University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama.
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Hands should be clean before handling books and
other library materials.
Because many of our books are dusty, it is
suggested that you wash your hands after handling
the books as well as before.
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• Think you know how to wash your hands? If you
  arent following these steps, you are leaving
  yourself vulnerable to infections, contamination,
  and spreading of pathogens.
• Wet your hands and apply soap.
• Rub all surfaces of your hands including nail
  beds and under the nails.
• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands, preferably using a paper towel.
• Do you know how long to wash before rinsing? Go
  to the next slide.

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Try it next time you wash your hands. It will
seem like a very long time, but 20 seconds is how
long you should take to soap your hands, then
rinse thoroughly.
5
Resist the temptation to eat or drink while
handling books.
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Food attracts mice and other rodents.
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And roaches as well as other bugs.
Silverfish and roaches eat paper, cardboard, and
BOOKS!!!
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Book lice
The most common book pest is the book louse, or
Psocid. They range in size from 1/24th to 1/12th
of an inch. They eat the cellulose, paste, glue,
leather, and book cloth. If you see one, there
are others and eggs present. The book should be
freeze dried. Do NOT just reshelve the book!!
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What do I do if I find some bugs in a book?
Take the book outside of the library. Shake the
bugs out of the book. Put the book in a bag,
write a note describing the problem, and place
both on Ms. Brannans desk. Use your common
sense! If it is crawling with many bugs, leave
the book IN A BAG on the floor NEAR THE DESK!
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What do these have in common?
Water!! Moisture of any kind near books leads to
. . .
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Damaged books and
MOLD and MILDEW
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Learn to recognize mold on books.
Moldy books should be cleaned with special
cleaners. Put it in a bag, write a note
explaining the problem, and put it on Ms.
Brannans desk. THEN WASH YOUR HANDS! MOLD
SPREADS!
Wet books should not be shelved! Put them where
they can dry.
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Microwaves do not kill all mold spores, and will
only kill active mold if heated to a point that
also damages the object itself. Many books have
metal parts (some book bindings, the magnetic
tattle strips, etc.) that can cause sparking and
fire, causing damage to both the item and the
oven. Glue and adhesives may also melt and will
weaken the binding.
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When you see pages ripped in a book, your first
reaction is to use tape to repair it. Dont do
it!
Special tapes must be used in book repair. Give
the book to Ms. Brannan.
Also, special glues must be used in books.
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Part of the damage to this book has been caused
by a well intentioned person who tried to repair
the book using the incorrect materials.
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A few more dos and donts.
Dont use paper clips or sticky notes in books or
on archive papers.
Dont staple anything into a book. Dont use
staples on archival papers.
17
We have some phonograph records that do check
out. These are not in the OPAC. Use the Music
Card Catalog to find what we have and the check
out cards are in a small drawer at the front desk.
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Phonograph records should be stored in their
covers. They must be kept standing on edge and
perfectly straight. Records must not be exposed
to high temperatures. Careless handling and
storage may result in a warped record.
19
These are very old music cylinders. We do have a
few of these in the archives. These will be
handled only by the archivist! If you see one,
please place it on Dr. Sniders desk.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION

• American Institute for Conservation of Historic
  and Artistic Works. http//aic.stanford.edu
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Book
  repair and pamphlet binding unit.
  http//www.library.uiuc.edu/preserve.
• University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United
  Kingdom, Robinson Library, Conservation.
  http//www.ncl.ac.uk/bindery/indexc.html.

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Photography Credits

• Flinders University of South Australia
  http//www.lib.flinders.edu.au/info/branch/medical
  /
• National Digestive Diseases Information
  Clearinghouse http//www.niddk.nih.gov/health/dige
  st/pubs/hep/hepa/hepa.htm
• Goodhumans Shopping. http//www.goodhumans.com/Sh
  opping/Soap_cleansers_and_shower_gel.
• New York City Department of Education, Office of
  School Food and Nutrition Services.
  http//www.opt-osfns.org/day_3/sld003.htm.
• Northwestern University Library
  http//staffweb.library.northwestern.edu/preservat
  ion/chlm/chapter04.html

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• 6. Photo Pack Rat http//www.photopackrat.com
• Solosnake.com http//www.solosnake.fsnet.co.uk/ma
  in/fancyrats2.htm
• Kentucky Symbols http//gov.state.ky.us/symbols.h
  tm
• Kids Korner, Wired for Books, Ohio University
  http//wiredforbooks.org/kids/beatrix/bm0.htm
• 7. Netcam http//www.stardot-tech.com/netcam/sa
  mples.html National Park Service Museum Resource
  Center http//www.nps.gov/mrc/reader/bugs.htm
  Easy Insects http//www.easyinsects.co.uk/cockro
  aches/madagascan-hissing
• 8. Ozone Termite and Pest Control
  http//www.ozane.com/potm/potm-psocids.htmAssocia
  tion of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives
  http//www.anla.nf.ca/bulletin14s.htm
• 9. Spring Hill Elementary School Library,
  McLean, Virginiahttp//www.fcps.k12.va.us/SpringH
  illES/library/WhatsNew.htm

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• 10. North Little Rock Water Department
  http//www.carkw.com/report/Northlittlerockwaterqu
  ality.htmlConquin, Inc. http//www.virtualroanoke
  .com/conquin/sweetsbev.htm USDA Forest Service
  Kids Corner http//www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/
  kids/akids.html
• 11. Robinson Library, University of Newcastle on
  Tyne, United Kingdom http//www.ncl.ac.uk/bindery/
  surfacescience.htmlAristotle University Central
  Library, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
  http//www.library.kent.edu/nbirk/assessment.html
  
• 12. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  http//gateway.library.uiuc.edu/preserve/water3.ht
  mlBMS Catastrophehttp//www.bmscat.com/were/arti
  cles/csunlibrary.shtml
• 13. Catoutofthebag.com http//www.catoutofthebag.
  com

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• 14. Syspark, Inc. http//www.iletaitunefois.qc.ca
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  http//gateway.library.uiuc.edu/preserve/vise1.htm
  lGaylord http//www.gaylordmart.com
• 15. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  http//www.library.uiuc.edu/preserve/spine3.html
• 16. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  http//www.library.uiuc.edu/preserve/pclip.htmlSp
  ringfield Paper Specialtieshttp//www.springfield
  paperspecialties.com/adhsvs.htm
• Train of Thought, High-Fi and Stereo Recording,
  ATT Labs Research History. http//www.research.a
  tt.com/history/33record.html.
• History of the Victrola, The Victor Victrola
  Page by Paul C. Edie. http//www.victor-victrola.
  com/ABOUT.htm.

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• Kauflust, Berlin. http//www.kauflust.de/be
  /d/shop/049.
• Close the Loop. http//www.homestead.com/prosites
  -closetheloop/info_RP4038.html
• 19. The Cornucopia Concert Band.
  http//www.cornband.org/cornsong.html.