We don’t always think about the long term consequences of how we store and display are collections, here are some things to consider when storing or displaying books.
Books need to be kept somewhere cool and dry. If you live somewhere humid and hot, this will be the thing you spend the most time fighting. You’ll need air conditioning.
Storing books packed too tight against another book can cause it to warp around the other book if its taller. Or it may stick to the other book. Standing it open to display can cause the spine to warp. Standing it up without any support may cause it to tilt sideways.
Handling can also wear the top and bottom of the spine and dustjacket (if it has one) just from it being pulled on and off the shelf or even when it’s jostled. Books with raised lettering will also have it rub off if they’re too tightly packed or if jostled against other books.
We often don’t think of Scouting Paper as rare artifacts, but here is a link on Rare Book Photography, including how to handle old and fragile books or other paper.
On folds:
Folds are dangerous territory. They are the most fragile element of the object and most likely to tear or shatter off, leaving you in an embarrassing situation (Fig. 21). For that reason, exercise extreme caution! Obviously, never fold anything not already folded. Beyond that, only fold or unfold things in the direction they are meant to go
and only as far as designed (e.g. if a book has a flap on its cover, do not fold it back on itself to get it out of the way; look for a workaround, Fig. 22.)
On turning pages:
Turn the page at the outer corner (Fig. 9). This is least likely to cause a tear. The worst choice is turning from the bottom or top of the page near the gutter or spine binding, which can easily cause a tear (Fig. 10). When you turn a page, support the weight of the page with your hand and slowly turn the page over. Do not use only
the corner to support the weight of the turning page. If the paper is brittle, turning incorrectly can break or fracture the pages (Fig. 11).
With Scouting over 100 years old and significant parts of our written history over 50 years old, we need to think of ways to preserve our history for the future and not just to tick off a box on a checklist.
How do you ensure that you collection does not worsen with age or storage conditions?
[phpbay]Boy Scout Handbook, 10[/phpbay]
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Every right that anyone has today is based on the doctrine that government is a creature of limited powers, and that the men constituting it become criminals if they venture to exceed those powers.The Impossible H L. Mencken
