Care and Storage of Your Books, Part 4
November 28th, 2007 by Alan Chudnow
This is the forth and final installment in the four part series on Care and Storage of your books. Links to the first three parts of the series, Handling Your Books, Shelving and Environment can be found at the end of the post.
Long Term Storage
As much as we love to have our books near us and at hand to admire and reference there will almost inevitably come a time you have to put a number of books in storage for a time. If you must store your books in boxes there are a number of things to keep in mind to maintain your books in a clean and healthy state.
When selecting cartons for storage make sure they are well constructed, preferably with reinforced seams, and on the small side. Books are heavier than they look and keeping your individual containers small will help prevent the likelihood of injury both to the box of books and to you.
Ideally books should be packed into boxes just as they would on the shelf, which is to say, upright and resting on their bottom edge. Often this will lead to a gap between the top of the books and the lid of the box. Using “filler” like bubble-wrap or air-filled plastic bags (like the ones Amazon.com uses for shipping) can help support the lid of the box if others are stacked on top. Avoid stacking too many boxes as the weight will crush the containers underneath.
In addition, be careful not to over pack your boxes and never force a book into a space that is too small for it. If packing books for a short period of time, say during a move, you may wrap books in newspaper or bubble wrap for protection against rubbing. However it’s not a good idea to store newspaper-wrapped books for longer periods as the newsprint can become acidic, damaging the book. For longer storage, acid-free tissue paper is available from many archival suppliers. I list a number of them on the Resources page of my web site Collecting Science Fiction Books.
Avoid storing your boxes in the basement or attic if possible unless the space is climate controlled. Remember, if you don’t want to live there, then neither do your books. Try and keep boxes off the floor on raised shelves or pallets to minimize exposure to insects and moisture and protect the one on top from sprinkler heads, heaters and windows. Restrain from stacking too many boxes as the weight of those above will crush the containers underneath. If your books are in a commercial storage facility attempt to find a space that is close to the middle of the building, as far away from insects and weather as possible. In addition, arrange frequent visits to check up on conditions and make rearrangements as necessary.
I highly recommend that you clearly label your boxes so you’ll be able to locate individual books later on. Generally a box number and the authors’ surnames it contains is enough to locate the appropriate container. I also recommend keeping an index of your collection either by hand or on a computer. There are a number of software programs available to keep track of bibliographical and storage location information for your collection. Not only will such a record be helpful in hunting for books to add to your collection but it will be invaluable when trying to locate a single book amongst several boxes in storage.
By and large books are pretty resilient but they can be damaged through neglect and careless handling. However with a little forethought, a little effort and a little care, you can help the books you love retain their sparkle and extend their life. Every collector understands the importance of a book’s condition and almost every book owner wants to keep the books they own looking their best. I hope this series has given you a few tips on keeping your books in the condition you wish for as long as you have them.
Occupo Libri!
Thanks for this insight of yours
on storage. It really helped!
Best Regards,
joeB
Good info to use for books I usually place desicants (silica gel)between them.
We’ve tried many different methods of shipping books before settling on B-Flute. It always boils down to two thing. 1. The book is very well protected. 2. The method is the least expensive way to ship a book, often less than half the cost of a book mailer. We wrote a nice article with plenty of photos explaining exactly how to wrap up a book using b-flute. if you’re relatively new to online book selling you really should check out the article.
Bruce from Book Mailers
I have ordered the leather bound Virginia Heinlein Collection of all of his works. This collection is expensive, but worth every penny.
Is there anything I should know about keeping leather books in good condition? Can I keep them with cloth covered books?
Besty,
Keeping leather books, especially new ones, in good condition is largely a matter of good bookcare in general. It is particularly important that you keep your hands clean and dry when handling the books as oils and dirt can blemish the leather rather easily. As your books are new careful handling and storage should suffice.
In years past it was the practice to treat leather covers and binding with a leather dressing like lanolin or neetsfoot oil. Today most professional institutions like the The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC), the Library of Congress and the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) recommend against leather dressings as they can cause “discoloration, staining, and stickiness of the leather, wicking of oil into adjoining materials including text blocks, and increased danger of mold growth on treated materials.”
It is best to keep a space between your leather bound books and other books that are paperbound or have an uncovered paper dust jacket as the acid in the paper can, over time stain the leather. Dust jackets that are covered with a plastic protective cover can live quite comfortably next to their leather neighbors.
Congratulations on your purchase. I’m sure they’ll give you many year of enjoyment!
Thanks! I can’t wait till they arrive in a month.
Thanks for the additional info. I will be keeping them on their own shelf then. I think I will have these for many years to come.
i will be storing my books for at least a year in an attic which is in no way climate controlled… it is on the humid side, as the location is denmark (it rains alot here). i packed my books into plastic bags, i thought this would be ideal to keep outside moisture out, but now i have been doing research online and i am reading that plastic bags is not a suggested method of storage…because sudden temperture changes can cause moisture to accumulate. what to do in this predicament… wouldn’t it be better to pack them in plastic bags if this attic is my only option…. or will i potentially cause them great damage. anyone have some sound advice?