Practical book hygiene

Abstract

The new science known as book hygiene (book protection) represents the combination of theoretical knowledge and practical duties. Book consistence is detrimentally affected by a number of harmful air components, unsuitable air temperature and relative humidity, natural and artificial light and, furthermore, book damages or destruction may be caused by micro-organism types or parasites as well. Particularly groundwood paper will age within a relatively short period of time. Against extremely high expenece, however, a condition may be developed where the library stock will not age or get spoiled, or only after a very long time. Professionals endeavour to provide for this ideal situation or at least to approximate it as nearly as possible. Methods have been developed to protect the stock under storage conditions and in use (preventive book protection, preservation) as well as to recondition damaged volumes (recovery book protection, restoration). Author is the Hungarian theoretical pioneer in this field: his comprehensive manual (Library stock protection - Book hygiene fundamentals, Budapest, 1961, pp 200) has been published by the OKDT. In this study, author deals with this multilateral problem as related to the field of company technical libraries and, mainly, from the aspect of practical duties supplemented only by the most indispensable theoretical references. Useful advices are given to professional librarians on how the stock should be protected against the detrimental effects of natural or artificial light, what temperature and relative humidity library premises should exhibit, how organic and inorganic dust types might by fought, what should be done had the stock been attacked by mildew, fungi, or pest types (insects, rodents), and how the stock could be disinfected. In the conclusion of his study, author informs on the most important restoration techniques.