Save Our Books

Damaged Books: A SOB Story

Introduction

The SOB Story Begins…

•  

• HELP! Each year Averett’s Library loses between 50 and 100 books

many to avoidable damage.

Types of Damages:

• Cut or Torn Pages• Spine Damage/Loose Binding

• Water Damage• Mold & Mildew

• Climate• Insect Damage

• 50 to 100 books may not seem like a lot when you compare that number to all of the books we have in our library. However, many of the books we lose to this damage are NOT REPLACEABLE.

• You, as an Averett Library patron, can help us Save Our Books. Damage to the

book’s appearance (cosmetic) and damage to the book’s content (integrity) can be avoided. Let’s look at some types of damage and what you can do to help

Save Our Books!

Cut or torn pages

Have you ever been reading and just when you get to the good part, you find the next page is missing? Or someone has cut a paragraph or picture out of the book? This can be quite an annoyance at home, but imagine it happening in the library! Cut or torn pages cannot always be replaced, and when they can, the repair work takes a lot of time.

What You Can Do

• 1. If you find a loose or missing page, let the librarian know right away.

• 2. Use a bookmark rather than “dog ear” the pages. This makes it less likely for the pages to tear at the top. (Note: Post-it notes are not a good bookmark. The glue is toxic to book pages.)

• 3. Rather than cutting pages or pictures, find a copy machine or just write down the information you need from the text.

• 4. If you accidentally rip a page DO NOT repair it with Scotch tape. We appreciate your concern for damaged books, but over time the glue on the tape turns yellow and stains the book and can actually break brittle paper. Did you know conservators in private practice charge $7.00 per INCH to remove tape from books?! Please bring books with torn pages to the attention of the library staff, who will see the book gets appropriate, expert repair.

Spine damage& loose binding

Some of the books in the Averett Library collection are old. With age, the original binding (how the book stays together) can fall apart. Maybe you found a book on the shelf and the pages sag when you pick it up, or the spine is pulled up and torn on an end or side.

What You Can Do

• 1. Let a librarian know immediately. If caught soon enough, this book may be saved!

• 2. Store books in an upright position. Placing a book on its opening edge can cause the binding to come loose!3. When you pull a book off of the shelf, try and pull from the center of the book. Pulling on the upper edge can tear that part of the spine.

Water damage

Ever see a book swell to three times it’s original size? Maybe you have opened a book and found that the pages are wavy or the print is smeared. This is what happens when a book has water damage. Maybe it was rained on, something spilled on it, there was a leak in the roof, or someone thought it would make a neat base for a sail boat. In any case, water damage is usually something we can’t fix.

What You Can Do

• 1. Bring the book to the librarian immediately. It needs to be removed from our collection before more damage occurs to it or to other books on the shelf.

• 2. If the book becomes wet while it is on loan to you, don’t panic and please let a librarian know what happened. We will save the book if we can. Unfortunately, if we cannot, you will be charged for the replacement of the book.

• So, let us know, and maybe you can help us save a book!

• 3. Place your drink on a coaster or a paper towel. This will keep the moisture off of the book.

• 4. Watch where you keep your book. Sometimes, without thinking, books are placed in the kitchen or bathroom near potential sources of water damage.

Mold & Mildew

From time to time, we find books that have black dots or

white powder and a funny smell. You may think that ink or something else was spilled

on this book, but beware. Mold and mildew grow and

spread to other books! They are a great danger to any

collection. Mold and mildew happen because a book was damp or there was too much humidity in the room. Only

one thing can be done at this point.

What You Can Do

Bring the book IMMEDIATELY to the librarian. The item must be removed before the mold and/or mildew spreads to other books on the shelf. This book is a danger to our entire collection. We will not be able to save this one, but you will have helped to save many others by letting us know!

Climate

Wonder why libraries are so cold? Books need cool, dry air to stay in good condition.

This is even more true for non-print resources like CD’s or movies. If the air is dry and hot, books can dry out causing the pages to become brittle or

the cover to fall apart. In damp or humid conditions

damage to the binding, onset of mold/mildew, and other damages can occur. Non-

print resources can lose data, warp, or melt!

What You Can Do

• 1. Don’t leave a book, CD, or movie outside or in a car for a long period of time. In damp conditions, the cover of a paperback or hardback can warp, and extreme heat can melt non-print resources or soften the glue in a book and cause a cover to fall off!

• 2. Bring a sweater with you when you enter the library. We do wish we could keep it warmer, but the books need the cool, dry air.

Insects

• Why do people in libraries get so excited if a person brings a soda or a snack into the library? Studying is hungry work, after all. What’s the big deal?

 • The problem is that crumbs

and spills can attract insects and vermin. Many of these beasts eat paper and glue, as well as cookie crumbs. Liquid damage may lead to mold, leave stains, or may attract insects.  

What You Can Do

1. Please enjoy food outside of the library to help us take care of our collections.

2. Please use spill-proof cups in the library. Leave to-go cups and cans outside.

Stains

Once coffee or coke or food has been spilled onto a book, it will never be removed. Stains can cause permanent damage. Furthermore, not only are the pages grossly discolored, but also the stains can lead to mold or cause the pages to stick together. The best way to prevent staining is to avoid eating and drinking around library material.

Highlighting/Writing

Highlighting or writing notes into the text causes permanent damage. This book cannot be repaired. Patrons should never treat library books as if they own them. These books are in the library to benefit everyone and should be treated as such.

Pet Bites

While people rarely “feed” library materials to their pets, they do often unknowingly make them easily accessible. Dog owners might tuck their shows in the closets to protect them from Fluffy, but they do not always think to protect library books in a similar way. Keep library material out of harms way.

Picture

Your tuition dollars at work

 

Every dollar spent on repair and replacement

of damaged books takes money away

from the budget available for buying

new library resources.

 

Reference books and textbooks, which are often highly illustrated, are even more expensive than other books. Juvenile books are many times more expensive to replace than they are to buy originally.

 

It costs $325.00 for a reprint of a book to be ordered from Reprint Services Corp. Many books more than a few years old are out of print, and so must be gotten through a reprint service if available. They may be irreplaceable altogether.

Stop book damage!Help us save our books!

With your help, the Averett Library can

stop most book damages from

becoming “unfixable.” So take a couple of moments when looking at our collections and think of ways you can help us to save our books!

 

Remember:

• 1. Always report damage to a librarian. It can make a difference.

• 2. Never use bacon as a bookmark.

• 3. Bathtub reading is a risky venture.

• 4. Dog ears are cute, but not in books.

• 5. In a fight between a book and a puppy, the puppy always wins.

• 6. Books are a unique treasure, but that doesn’t mean you have to bury them.

Damaged books Display

Please come by

the library and

view our display

“Save Our Books…

Damaged Books:

A SOB Story.”