Keep your favorite in perfect condition
Do you have a favorite book? The one book you can read a thousand times and still love the story line and the characters.
Have you ever been disappointed when the spine breaks or a page tears? We know the feeling.
There are ways to help care for your books to keep them in top condition. These tips can be used in your home collection or for the books you borrow. With these eight tips we hope you can learn new ways to give books a longer shelf life.
The first step starts on the shelf. Do not pull on the top of the spine. This will cause a tearing and can lead to serious damage. Instead grasp the middle of the spine and pull forward. If this is difficult gently push volumes on either side of the book back about an inch making it easier to grasp.
Once you have found and removed the book you want from the shelf, the book can be enjoyed. If you notice that the book is in need of repair please let us know before you check it out. If it goes unnoticed until you are at home please let the circulation desk know when you return the item. Even something as small as a ripped pages can be fixed by our trained library staff. While it might seem helpful to fix the problem for us, it can do more harm than good.
Always use bookmarks. Other methods cause damage to the pages of books. Dog eared pages, sticky notes or paper clips all leave behind their mark. The library always has a wide selection of free bookmarks for you to choose from. Some are even located at the circulation desk for your convenience.
Treat all books with respect. All marking, stickers, cutting or tearing of books damages them and makes the item less enjoyable for others to enjoy. Also, never use them to write on. This leaves indentations on the books. While enjoying a book if you notice any evidence of this just let the circulation desk know.
Enjoy reading away from food, drinks, and cigarettes. Spills, stains, and burn marks damage the book and often require the item to be replaced. Food also attracts insects and rodents that eat paper and bindings. No one wants their favorite book eaten.
Protect books from the weather, rain or snow. Humidity also is the perfect environment for mold growth. Try to store books in places with little to no humidity. When bringing items back to the library in wet weather protect them in a bag.
Danger can lurk in bookdrops. Books take a beating when dropped. Sometimes they land open and then have other books land on top of them. The bookdrop is always open and there for your convenience and we know at night or in the early morning it is the only option. Whenever possible return books to the circulation desk. We love seeing your smiling faces and it is a great chance to pick out a new favorite.
Keep pets away from books. Pets can reduce an item into a chewed mess in a matter of seconds. This is bad for the pet and the item. Always store items away from pets.
Hopefully these tips will help extend the life of your library and our library. We hope that these are some simple ways to ensure that each collection will live on for the distant future. For more helpful tips go to the resources below. They have listed more ways to care and handle books from where and how to store them.
Book care resources
Proper Care and Handling of books Library of Congress www.loc.gov/preservation/care/books.html
Extend the life of your books http://lifehacker.com/5777237/extend-the-life-of-your-books-by-handling-them-properly
Proper care and handling of books http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.php/2011/03/08/proper-care-and-handling-of-books/
How to take care of library books http://www.teachertube.com/video/how-to-take-care-of-library-books-121765
Don’t let the Pigeon touch the books http://elementarylibraryroutines.wikispaces.com/Book+Care
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Keep your favorite in perfect condition
