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how best to store books?

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  • how best to store books?

    Hi everyone
    know this isn't reseach exactly, but!
    Clearing out loft and have found a box of books and papers that I stored there when my dear mam died 20 years ago
    too painful at time to look at,
    now I have found that these books are a treasure of family history,
    Sunday school books ect with names and dates going back to the mid 1800's
    not in perfect condition but to me priceless
    How should I best preserve them please
    any help
    janie x
    janie x

  • #2
    Depends whether you mean to preserve the actual documents or the information contained within. I would scan what I could to preserve them electronically but then maybe look at what I could do in terms of the paper itself. Acid free plastic sleeves would be good for the loose pages but books would be a different matter. A library might help with methods for keeping books in good condition.
    Margaret

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    • #3
      Thanks Margaret
      didnt think of library for info
      was trying to preserve books for future generations,
      if and when they catch this bug of family history!!
      janie x
      janie x

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      • #4
        Yes that's a good idea, perhaps you could also write your own book with the family history in it and referring to the books you have )
        Margaret

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        • #5
          Or you could let your County Archives have them on permanent loan. They would look after them much better than you could.
          Uncle John - Passed away March 2020

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          • #6
            I have a lot of old books too (earliest ones are late 17thC!), so I'm just linking in to this thread so I remember to read the replies!

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            • #7
              Uncle John.
              what a great idea
              a lot of people would benefit from that, not just immediate family
              thankyou
              janie x
              janie x

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              • #8
                At the moment all the old books I have are stored in a small cabinet laid flat. Don't know if this is the best way or not, but it seems to work. You can certainly smell then when you open the doors!

                :o

                Remembering: Cuthbert Gregory 1889 - 1916, George Arnold Connelly 1886 - 1917, Thomas Lowe Davenport 1890 - 1917, Roland Davenport Farmer 1885 - 1916, William Davenport Sheffield 1879 - 1915, Cuthbert Gregory 1918 - 1944

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                • #9
                  lol Tom!

                  I would have thought the main things would be to keep the books out of sunlight and in the correct temperature/humidity....just that I don't know what temp/humidity......

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                  • #10
                    Damp is the worst enemy of paper, closely followed by sunlight.

                    Professional archives have carefully controlled humidity. I am sure a bit of googling will give the facts and figures...but how you would do this at home I do not know.

                    I store very old papers in a steel box with several of those sachet thingies that absorb damp. I renew the sachet thingies every so often.

                    OC

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
                      I store very old papers in a steel box with several of those sachet thingies that absorb damp. I renew the sachet thingies every so often.
                      Silica gel, perchance?

                      My father had huge numbers of books, some of them quite valuable. They were nearly all ruined by being kept in a damp room.
                      Uncle John - Passed away March 2020

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                      • #12
                        That's the stuff, UJ!

                        OC

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                        • #13
                          I have kept a few books over the years and would suggest keeping them in a stable, smoke free, environment.
                          Never store books and papers in attics or cellars.
                          Attics vary too much in temperature and humidity, hot and dry in summer cold and damp in winter.
                          Cellars are often cold and damp.
                          Keep books and papers out of direct sunlight also as that bleaches the paper.

                          The temperature is best kept slightly cool around 16-18 degrees centigrade with relative humidity around 50-60%

                          Much of the damage one sees in books is where they have been kept too dry and the pages and bindings have dried out becoming brittle and crumbling.

                          I would also store books upright as then they are not being compressed by the books on top of them, but are only bearing their own weight.
                          The exception to this is very large or heavy books where storing upright could pull the pages from the binding.

                          It is also important for air to circulate around books so make sure there is a gap between the bookcase and wall and between the book and the next shelf.
                          It also benefits books to be read from time to time as this encourages air circulation.

                          PS never use the spine to pull a book from the shelf. Always reach right over the book and slid your finger down the front edge to tilt the book allowing the other hand to grasp each side.
                          Cheers
                          Guy
                          Guy passed away October 2022

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