Another great video about the library side of books. I saw the Book of Kells at the Trinity College Library in Dublin and they literally have it a basement, under indirect light, and they turn the pages so the same page isnt exposed to the light for very long. This kind of thing fascinates me and I always feel like I missed my calling.
Woah, that's like a big goal of mine to see the Book of Kells. I think the Beowulf manuscript and the Magna Carta were the coolest ones I've seen so far. Actually I think I might do a whole video on the Beowulf one because I loved learning about its history. Brian, it's never too late to do anything you like!
This was such a fascinating video! I have not thought much about preservation or conservation of books, but I love watching videos of people doing work on paintings - there's something kind of magical to me, about ways we combat the natural decay of time. Double Fold also sounds great, I'll for sure check it out!
It truly is magical. The conservators I interviewed one-on-one when I was trying to decide if I wanted to go into this field all said that there's a very specific kind of satisfaction to look at the finished work after completely restoring something which used to be broken, or falling apart and that feeling made it worth it. Double Fold is a great book! I hope you enjoy it :)
Please don't stop making videos about books. I don't just mean reviews, but the physical books :) You got me really interested in this field. I used to keep some of the books on the windowsill and put them away as soon as I noticed that the pages began to turn yellow.
I won't I promise! It's a fascinating topic. Awww...I actually helped someone with saving their books!! That's so great to know. It's a fascinating field. :) I won't stop
Hi! I'm investigating on how to conserve old books (Mainly typical paper cover ones from spain), but I'm a minor and even though I'm interested in making this my career in the future, I want to know if there's something I can do as of now, because the poor books are dying! The oldest I've got in my collection is from the victorian era, passed from my great-great-grandmother to my great-grandmother who recently died (She was the one who took care of me as a child, so that's why all of her possessions passed to me.), and this changed my life completely; I am in love with old books, newspapers, artifacts, and fashion! I will study for this :)
For the moment keep them in a safe place, a place with no light and no unstable temperature. If you can find a book binder in your area they might be able to help. In my rare book library we have a book binder who comes in once per week and fixes broken books on the shelf. He seems to have special materials. DON'T use tape or regular school glue, that will just ruin things forever. The reason this job is a profession is because it requires a lot of training and to actively work on a book you must use special tools and/or chemicals. If you can't find a book binder in your area, try looking online for archival materials to preserve the books you have. Especially those most important. The last thing you want to do now is to put things on your books you can't take back later, so don't experiment unless you're sure! Lastly, if you can't find a book binder, or anything online try going to a rare book library or archive in your area. Maybe they have someone who can help you restore and conserve the books. Look up Ana Jessen in Madrid on Google. If you're looking to just take care of them long term and you don't need to act on it now, then keep the books away from light and in a temperature-controlled space.
This was fascinating. Glad you did a follow-up video. I wish books weren't so fragile! In Germany there was a big fire in a famous library in Leipzig in 2004 and that destroyed a lot of priceless documents and in 2009 there was a landslide in Cologne that destroyed part of an archive and even killed two people. I added Double Fold to my wishlist, it seems to be along the same line of tragedies.
Thank you so much! the destruction of manuscripts and books in general often hurts the cultural heritage of a place. There were some great books both nonfiction and fiction fixated on the destruction of culture by bombing libraries...it's really quite a shocking topic. I hope you enjoy Double Fold!
I was taking notes during this. Especially as we just inherited an ancient family bible. I'm keen on knowing all the tips and tricks to keep my collection pristine. :)
Another really interesting video Andreea. The level of detail and the amount of research you did for this is impressive to see. It's also good to know this room has one advantage and that's the darkness helping my books out.
This was a super interesting follow up to the book smell video! I personally enjoy the smell of second-hand book shops, but I know people who are super put off by that and only buy new books because they don't like the idea that these books have previously been owned and used and may have decayed or absorbed stuff. The science behind book preservation and conservation is super interesting, and I'm in awe of people who take care of old books. Personally I don't take particularly good care of my books, maybe one day I'll have the luxury of a proper library room where I can give my books all the love and attention they deserve :)
The whole time I was like: I hope no one notices that my bookshelf is next to my kitchen which I specifically said not to do. At the end of the day these are "ideal" situations but realistically when you have a tiny place, you can't really control the environment that well or help it. I think just keeping them out of sunlight is the best I can do. I love old books too, and knowing someone else previously held that book in their hands and maybe loved it. My favourite part is finding random things people insert like photos, leaves, letters, bus tickets....it's kind of awesome. I'm like secretly hoping one day I'll find something magical and life changing like a map to Hogwarts or something
You've certainly helped at least one book-owner, Andrea. I have a valuable collection, about 2,000 volumes and since joining the Private Libraries Association, (membership open to anyone anywhere, though it's originally a UK organisation), have become very aware of conservation issues and my responsibility for seeing my collection survives into the future. My oldest book dates from 1750 and I have several items from the early eighteen hundreds. I could do with my own private conservationist, but that is out of the question financially. Can you recommend a good book on book conservation for amateurs? Thanks very much for this priceless information presented so clearly.
Conservation Concerns A Guide for Collectors and Curators By Konstanze Bachmann (1992) is probably the best introductory work. The best I can recommend is to keep your books in a temperature-stable room. It's better if it doesn't go up and down because that's what creates humidity and mold. At the current rare book library I work there are no such conditions so I have to use dehumidifiers in the summers but I'm still no where near stable temperatures. In terms of long term thinking there are also paper de-acidifying sprays you can get from places like ULINE or websites for Archivists. I'm going to suggest you watch this video I made at work with our bookbinder: ruclips.net/video/Bm9oEMnfTqs/видео.html&ab_channel=TheRobertsonDaviesLibrary
One person here! It must be my Hufflepuff genes, but I found this riveting. I didn't know there are actual bookworms, thought that was just a story. Bed bugs! Aaaah! Fortunately Colorado (here in southern Canada) is ridiculously dry -- must sell more lotion here than anywhere except Australia. National Treasure! Lol! I was thinking "Andreea's not even American!" & then you said ... . A question: a previous local library would rebind older books in hardcover: paperbacks & I guess hardbacks that were damaged, a lot were old books. The new rebindings were very tight, very generic, & unattractive, but definitely sturdy. I don't see that being done any more. Any thoughts on why? Just curious. Excellent video -- enjoyable *&* entertaining.
Lol Hufflepuff genes! Love it! You know a lot of people think bookworm is just an expression for a big reader, but they are very much real. I know that universities continue to do the ugly hardcover binding. It takes a lot of effort and time to rebind books, but maybe it's because far more books circulate and come through. But universities certainly keep doing the binding even if the public library has stopped. Thank you very much as always!
Another great video about the library side of books. I saw the Book of Kells at the Trinity College Library in Dublin and they literally have it a basement, under indirect light, and they turn the pages so the same page isnt exposed to the light for very long. This kind of thing fascinates me and I always feel like I missed my calling.
Woah, that's like a big goal of mine to see the Book of Kells. I think the Beowulf manuscript and the Magna Carta were the coolest ones I've seen so far. Actually I think I might do a whole video on the Beowulf one because I loved learning about its history. Brian, it's never too late to do anything you like!
This was such a fascinating video! I have not thought much about preservation or conservation of books, but I love watching videos of people doing work on paintings - there's something kind of magical to me, about ways we combat the natural decay of time. Double Fold also sounds great, I'll for sure check it out!
It truly is magical. The conservators I interviewed one-on-one when I was trying to decide if I wanted to go into this field all said that there's a very specific kind of satisfaction to look at the finished work after completely restoring something which used to be broken, or falling apart and that feeling made it worth it. Double Fold is a great book! I hope you enjoy it :)
Please don't stop making videos about books. I don't just mean reviews, but the physical books :) You got me really interested in this field.
I used to keep some of the books on the windowsill and put them away as soon as I noticed that the pages began to turn yellow.
I won't I promise! It's a fascinating topic. Awww...I actually helped someone with saving their books!! That's so great to know. It's a fascinating field. :) I won't stop
This was fascinating from start to finish. Thank you for posting videos like this, Andreea.
:) I'm glad you enjoyed it! You are very welcome!
This is such a thoughtful video. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Hi! I'm investigating on how to conserve old books (Mainly typical paper cover ones from spain), but I'm a minor and even though I'm interested in making this my career in the future, I want to know if there's something I can do as of now, because the poor books are dying! The oldest I've got in my collection is from the victorian era, passed from my great-great-grandmother to my great-grandmother who recently died (She was the one who took care of me as a child, so that's why all of her possessions passed to me.), and this changed my life completely; I am in love with old books, newspapers, artifacts, and fashion! I will study for this :)
For the moment keep them in a safe place, a place with no light and no unstable temperature. If you can find a book binder in your area they might be able to help. In my rare book library we have a book binder who comes in once per week and fixes broken books on the shelf. He seems to have special materials. DON'T use tape or regular school glue, that will just ruin things forever. The reason this job is a profession is because it requires a lot of training and to actively work on a book you must use special tools and/or chemicals. If you can't find a book binder in your area, try looking online for archival materials to preserve the books you have. Especially those most important. The last thing you want to do now is to put things on your books you can't take back later, so don't experiment unless you're sure! Lastly, if you can't find a book binder, or anything online try going to a rare book library or archive in your area. Maybe they have someone who can help you restore and conserve the books. Look up Ana Jessen in Madrid on Google. If you're looking to just take care of them long term and you don't need to act on it now, then keep the books away from light and in a temperature-controlled space.
@@InfiniteText Thank you very very much!!! :) This means a lot, I'll search a book binder right away!
This was fascinating. Glad you did a follow-up video. I wish books weren't so fragile! In Germany there was a big fire in a famous library in Leipzig in 2004 and that destroyed a lot of priceless documents and in 2009 there was a landslide in Cologne that destroyed part of an archive and even killed two people. I added Double Fold to my wishlist, it seems to be along the same line of tragedies.
Thank you so much! the destruction of manuscripts and books in general often hurts the cultural heritage of a place. There were some great books both nonfiction and fiction fixated on the destruction of culture by bombing libraries...it's really quite a shocking topic. I hope you enjoy Double Fold!
I was taking notes during this. Especially as we just inherited an ancient family bible. I'm keen on knowing all the tips and tricks to keep my collection pristine. :)
Oooooh that's a great inheritance....they are quite fancy. :) Keeping the collection pristine is key!
Such an interesting video, thank you!
Thank you for watching, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Another really interesting video Andreea. The level of detail and the amount of research you did for this is impressive to see. It's also good to know this room has one advantage and that's the darkness helping my books out.
This was a super interesting follow up to the book smell video! I personally enjoy the smell of second-hand book shops, but I know people who are super put off by that and only buy new books because they don't like the idea that these books have previously been owned and used and may have decayed or absorbed stuff. The science behind book preservation and conservation is super interesting, and I'm in awe of people who take care of old books. Personally I don't take particularly good care of my books, maybe one day I'll have the luxury of a proper library room where I can give my books all the love and attention they deserve :)
The whole time I was like: I hope no one notices that my bookshelf is next to my kitchen which I specifically said not to do. At the end of the day these are "ideal" situations but realistically when you have a tiny place, you can't really control the environment that well or help it. I think just keeping them out of sunlight is the best I can do. I love old books too, and knowing someone else previously held that book in their hands and maybe loved it. My favourite part is finding random things people insert like photos, leaves, letters, bus tickets....it's kind of awesome. I'm like secretly hoping one day I'll find something magical and life changing like a map to Hogwarts or something
You've certainly helped at least one book-owner, Andrea. I have a valuable collection, about 2,000 volumes and since joining the Private Libraries Association, (membership open to anyone anywhere, though it's originally a UK organisation), have become very aware of conservation issues and my responsibility for seeing my collection survives into the future. My oldest book dates from 1750 and I have several items from the early eighteen hundreds. I could do with my own private conservationist, but that is out of the question financially. Can you recommend a good book on book conservation for amateurs? Thanks very much for this priceless information presented so clearly.
Conservation Concerns
A Guide for Collectors and Curators
By Konstanze Bachmann (1992) is probably the best introductory work. The best I can recommend is to keep your books in a temperature-stable room. It's better if it doesn't go up and down because that's what creates humidity and mold. At the current rare book library I work there are no such conditions so I have to use dehumidifiers in the summers but I'm still no where near stable temperatures. In terms of long term thinking there are also paper de-acidifying sprays you can get from places like ULINE or websites for Archivists. I'm going to suggest you watch this video I made at work with our bookbinder: ruclips.net/video/Bm9oEMnfTqs/видео.html&ab_channel=TheRobertsonDaviesLibrary
One person here! It must be my Hufflepuff genes, but I found this riveting. I didn't know there are actual bookworms, thought that was just a story. Bed bugs! Aaaah! Fortunately Colorado (here in southern Canada) is ridiculously dry -- must sell more lotion here than anywhere except Australia. National Treasure! Lol! I was thinking "Andreea's not even American!" & then you said ... . A question: a previous local library would rebind older books in hardcover: paperbacks & I guess hardbacks that were damaged, a lot were old books. The new rebindings were very tight, very generic, & unattractive, but definitely sturdy. I don't see that being done any more. Any thoughts on why? Just curious. Excellent video -- enjoyable *&* entertaining.
Lol Hufflepuff genes! Love it! You know a lot of people think bookworm is just an expression for a big reader, but they are very much real. I know that universities continue to do the ugly hardcover binding. It takes a lot of effort and time to rebind books, but maybe it's because far more books circulate and come through. But universities certainly keep doing the binding even if the public library has stopped. Thank you very much as always!