The Playful Antiquarian

On the (im)proper care of books

October 8th, 2003

Yesterday, I received the latest issue of Real Simple (yes, I subscribe to Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living…and most of the MSL spinoffs…I know…I am weird), and I noticed something rather funny in one of their articles. The article, “Breathing Room”, is about selecting and using a self-storage center. On the third page of the article, the author offers suggestions for packing, including a suggestion for packing books: “Pack books flat to protect the spines.”Well, the first page of the article shows a neat, perfect Real Simple storage locker with almost everything packed in clear plastic boxes and labeled. Five of these boxes are filled with books, but the books do not seem to be stored as suggested. In fact, they seem to be stored foredges down (i.e., with their spines facing up), the worst possible way to shelve (let alone store) a book. That way of shelving causes the text block to pull away from the spine, especially with heavy books, such as the ones shown in the picture.

I suppose this is a case of do as we say but not as we do. If you are planning to store your books or if you are interested in guidelines for the care and handling of books (rare or not), there are many excellent resources available. The Library Preservation at Harvard site is a good starting point. Although mainly about the preservation of Harvard’s collections, this site also has a selection of online resources for preserving personal collections.

Now, should I write in and point out this inconsistency? Or will that brand me as an obsessive bore? What a strange quandary!

Entry Filed under: Articles