book storage

[EDLEE]

My daughter was recently told by one of her professors that books would be damaged if stored in plastic containers. My question is why. Since the semester is over and she won't be able to ask him till the fall, I thought I might get a quicker answer, and one I trusted more, here.

[wildwood]

Yes, books can get mouldy if stored in airtight plastic containers, or even covers. Drilling a few holes in the sides will promote air conditioning. For covers, there are now special corrugated plastic covers available that allow the book to breath.

[theprof]

Well, in support of a colleague, yes there is theoretical risk involved here.

Firstly, it's not advisable because if an airtight plastic container is exposed to sunlight and the air in the container is at the right humidity, condensation will form on the inside walls of the container, fall to the base and cause damage to the book.

Secondly, in the case of PVC and similar polymers, a complex dechlorination reaction may occur upon long-term exposure to sunlight leading to the emission of hydrogen chloride gas from the plastic. Hydrogen chloride gas when dissolved in water forms hydrochloric acid, but for the purposes we are discussing here, the gas can be regarded as just as corrosive as the acid. These PVC degradation reactions have been known for many years thanks to the work of Ivan and other polymer chemists.

I think it's very likely that the professor had one of these in mind when he was talking to your daughter.

As wildwood points out, ventilation is vital for long-term book storage. We've got irreplaceable books in our university libraries and they all seem to be stored in ventilated secure cabinets or on open shelving. I know the British Library and The Library of Congress use the same system, so if it's good enough for them��

[EDLEE]

I appreciate the quick responses.

My books are in large plastic storage containers. Like the ones we have stored the childrens clothes and stuffed animals,etc. in the attic for years to avoid mice/insects.

We haven't had any noticeable problems with that, and we're talking twenty years+ for some of the stuff.

I guess I'm a little more concerned about the books because I think that all this junk that we are accumulating is eventually going to end up with our grandkids or beyond.

It would be my hope that they would understand me better from the books I enjoyed than from the rest of the detritus I have collected.

I guess drilling a few holes won't kill me.

ed

[theprof]

I think as long as you keep the containers out of bright sunlight, the books should be OK. This will be the next best thing to shoving the stuff up the attic.

The paper in books will yellow in time no matter how you store a book, but there's very little you can do to prevent this.

The only adverse thing about ventilation is that it may allow insect infestation by silverfish etc to occur, so you need to check the stuff periodically for any signs of the creatures. I've worked in the US a few times over the last thirty years and a popular method of deterring these insects in book containers is to throw in a small handful of cedar chips with the books. The chips are readily available from horticultural suppliers

[EDLEE]

Thank you, again, for your help.

I think it's going to be the containers, the cedar and to the attic with the lot.

I hope the heirs, whoever they end up being, appreciate the effort.
ed