Those who love literature know the importance of the book as an object. But what they may forget is that having a good, large library at home comes with a responsibility: taking care of books. Because they are not a pet that needs to be fed and taken out three times a day, books do require certain care so that the copies do not deteriorate prematurely and are always preserved as the day you took them from the new arrivals table.
The biggest fans of bibliophilia – the pleasure of buying, accumulating, and preserving books – know that there are several tips for taking care of the books they have at home. If you already consider yourself a potential bibliophile and your home shelves are starting to overflow with books, comics, and manga, it’s time to learn how to take care of a book. In this post, we offer you a series of ten essential tips for taking care of your books and keeping them in perfect condition. You will see that by adding a few simple habits to your daily life you can achieve this goal and you will eliminate in one fell swoop the possibility of finding a book that has deteriorated due to not taking the appropriate precautions.
Top tips for taking care of your books
1. Regular cleaning: get rid of dust
It may seem obvious, but many people forget that books are also subject to dust. Cleaning books should be one of the most common tasks in the care and maintenance of a personal library. To do this, it is enough to incorporate the shelves into your weekly dust check. In the case of cleaning dust and lint from books, it is interesting to know that no special care is required. Simply applying a feather duster and giving it a couple of light wipes will be enough to remove all the accumulated dust.
An important detail is not to use any product directly on the specimens, since this can be harmful to them: they can acquire odors, become too wet, or even get stained by the action of the chemicals in the cleaners.
Another tip in this regard is that if you don’t want to have to clean regularly, you can choose a bookcase model with glass doors. This way, the accumulation of dust on your books will be much less and slower.
2. Sunlight: an enemy of roofs
The material used to print the covers of most books is not very resistant to sunlight. What does this mean? If your library receives direct sunlight for many hours a day, it is very possible that the covers will end up losing their color and even showing very unpleasant stains and smudges. To avoid this, try to place your shelves in a place where they receive indirect light. You can also place books with covers that are not glossy in the most vulnerable areas since this is the material that is most affected by the action of light.
3. Temperature: the great invisible problem
Closely related to the previous advice is the fact of controlling the temperature to which the books are exposed. Book conservation specialists have determined that sudden temperature changes are not suitable for preserving a library in perfect condition. After all, books are made of paper, cardboard, and other materials that change when the temperature fluctuates. Thus, with cold and heat these materials contract and expand, which can end up being a problem for the bindings.
The solution is simple: avoid heaters, radiators,s or the direct impact of fireplaces or air conditioners. In this way, the changes will be slow and the adaptation of the books will therefore be much more appropriate.
4. Direct humidity: the horror of a deformed book
To finish with the ‘climatic conditions’ that must be considered when storing books, we must talk about humidity. Of all the things mentioned, humidity is perhaps the one that can most affect books.
A damp wall, books that are slightly wet with a vaporizer, or similar situations will have fatal consequences for your books: curling, pages sticking together, and a series of other problems that can end the health of one of your favorite books right off the bat. A particularly dry environment also has its consequences: spaces where humidity is minimal end up producing books with very brittle pages that will easily break when turning them.
5. Shelf space: avoiding pressure
We all love to see those shelves full to the brim, where not one more book fits. It shows the love that we feel for literature and, why not say it, they look great in the living room or in the office. However, we must not make a very common mistake: jamming the books together on the shelves.
If it’s difficult or almost impossible to get a book into or out of the shelf, that space is too crowded. Books should be able to be moved out and back into their proper place comfortably. Otherwise, by forcing the placement, you’re probably unintentionally distorting the books and damaging the stitching or gluing of the pages to the spine.
6. Custom adhesive dust jackets?
Protecting a book with a custom dust jacket is a common occurrence. You’ve probably seen it on the subway or public transportation: it’s a way of not showing what you’re reading and, at the same time, preventing the book’s original covers from getting knocked, scratched, stained, or dirty. However, many people make the mistake of using adhesive materials to accomplish this goal. This is a serious mistake if taking care of books is a priority for you. When removing the dust jacket and returning the book to its original state, there may be traces of glue left behind or even the material of the book may be damaged.
Although it may be more inconvenient to use, it is recommended to use plain paper dust jackets, which can be easily removed and disposed of without having to regret damage due to the volume.
7. Forcing the book: the 180º law
The most vulnerable point of any book is the spine. This is the point where the pages are sewn or glued to the covers of the book. And, therefore, the place that must be taken care of the most if you do not want to end up with a book without covers, half detached or even with loose pages. To do this, there is a recommendation that bibliophiles follow to the letter: do not open the book more than 180 degrees. What does this mean? That the pages already read should, at most, mark a straight line with the part of the volume that remains to be read. If you open it more than necessary, you run the risk of damaging the glue. And this is something very difficult to recover if it deteriorates.
8. Reading and coffee yes, but with care
Few things are more evocative for lovers of a good book than sitting in the afternoon sun with a good title in your hands and a steaming cup of coffee… But this is one of the biggest risks for your library! If you ask a specialist how to take care of a book, they will probably tell you that no food or drink should be allowed near it, as an accident is very likely to occur and the only thing harmed is the novel you are reading at that moment.
There is no need to be so firm about this because literature is meant to be enjoyed and the truth is that eating and drinking while reading is a pleasure. What we recommend is to take extreme precautions: avoiding sandwich crumbs getting inside the pages or tea drops falling on the pages will make those books accompany you for years.
9. Tips for ‘launching’ a book
Have you ever felt that a new book was a bit ‘hard’ when turning its pages? This is because the binding process provides a rigidity that makes the first readings somewhat uncomfortable. And it can also lead to problems with binding if you don’t learn how to ‘unlock’ a book in the right way. The process is very simple: open the book, turn about fifteen or twenty pages and lightly press the area where the pages meet each other. This has a direct impact on the hardness we are talking about: you will see how the book becomes a much more comfortable object for reading.
10. Anti-fungal and anti-insect review
Although this would be enough for a single article, taking care of books – especially older ones – to protect them from the presence of fungi and insects such as silverfish, termites or moths can nest in books. This happens especially when they accumulate moisture or mold stains, so if you take care with all the precautions above, this scenario may never occur.
When faced with these problems, it is best to separate the ‘rotten apple’ from the rest of your library. In addition, there are treatments to restore these books, such as the use of dry disinfectants, which can eliminate this presence in one fell swoop.
These are the main tips that every literature lover should keep in mind to take care of their books. Following them is not complicated and will ensure that your library will accompany you for life in the best condition.
