Perhaps the most frequent questions we get emailed here at The Private Library are questions regarding book care:
After pointing out the numerous podcasts and webcasts that can be found on this subject in the right-hand column of this blog, the most common follow-up question is ... but don't you have anything I can print out?
Well, after scouring the Internet for a one-stop, handy-dandy, no-nonsense, ready-to-print-out guide to book care, we think we've uncovered just what the doctor ordered. This little guide is both fairly comprehensive and frequently quite witty, and is especially good if you live in an area with lots of humidity. It was put together by Tappin Book Mine, an independent bookseller in northeast Florida (est. 1975).
Here are some sample bits of book care wisdom:
If your books take such a low priority in your life, that you'd even CONSIDER storing them in the garage, then you've got no business reading this. Put something less important on the porch or in the garage, like your spouse, or grandmother.
I hate bugs. Especially cockroaches. They eat books. They love books. Most better bookbindings are Cloth, and the cloth is filled with Sizing, to smooth it. The sizing is paste, usually made from wheat. Roaches love it. So do silverfish. Did you ever wonder how those ragged spots of rough cloth got on books? Yup, it was Roaches or silverfish. They don't just survive on a diet of books, they thrive.So, keep your house or book room insect free. Otherwise, you're just going to feed the bugs. The bugs will thank you by eating your library.
More at Book Care for Bibliophiles....
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