Caring for Books and Documents by A. D. Baynes-Cope

Author:A. D. Baynes-Cope
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Amsterdam Books
Published: 1981-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Light is an enemy of books . . .

The most noticeable effect of light is the fading of colours, especially of inks and the bindings of books, though this is almost always accompanied by damage to the paper or leather which is less obvious. However, since documents exist to be used, or to be seen for pleasure, loss of only some visual appearance is damage enough, especially as there is no practical remedy.

Heat can also be an enemy . . .

Heat can also be an enemy of books, for two main reasons. Firstly, it increases the rate at which chemicals, such as acids, attack paper and it is known that books kept in hot places will last for a shorter time than those in cool places. The second reason is that heat, by causing a lowering of relative humidity, produces dimensional changes in materials such as paper, parchment, wood and glue, the basic materials of books and documents. The moisture in cellulose, parchment and glue, which is held by semi-chemical bonds, depends on the relative humidity of the air surrounding them and, therefore, if this air is dried by raising its temperature, the moisture in the materials will be lost and they will contract. This is what causes the bowing of the covers of books read by the fire. The contraction in parchment, vellum and glue can be even more drastic, causing cockling of the leaves and the loss of ink and deocration, and excessive strain on the binding structure.

Another consequence of undue heating is that it will cause moisture to migrate from a warm place to a cooler one. This effect can be seen in any poorly ventilated space, such as a picture frame, a metal deed-box, or a whole room. The increase in moisture at the relatively cool place may often be enough to allow microbes to grow or even to cause staining by liquid water and rust. Furthermore, it is a property of glass that the ease with which it allows radiant heat to pass through it depends on the temperature of the source of that heat. Therefore, heat from the sun can pass through a window and heat a room and the books within it, which is why a greenhouse is hot on a cold sunny day. However, compared with a brick wall a window is a good conductor of heat; since it cannot absorb the heat it is transmitting, it will be cold on a cold day, so that moisture driven out of the books will condense on the window. Air in contact with the window is cooled and drops down the wall space below it, bathing it in a stream of a cold damp air.

Thus, indirectly, windows are an enemy of books, for they allow sunlight to fall on the books so that the ultra-violet light and radiant heat can cause chemical and physical damage to them while at the same time acting as a source of dampness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.