Subject: Mold on books Cleaning books
I have two fairly simple questions concerning preservation measures in the stacks that I'm finding either no information or conflicting information in the literature available to me. 1. What is the appropriate way to dust books on the shelves? Should treated cloths (those that pick up dust rather than distribute it around) be used on books? If not, what should be used? Should the books be vacuumed? 2. What fungicides are available on the market that remove mold but are not harmful to people? While some of the literature I've read advocate vacuuming moldy books (in addition to changing their environment), they also say that only trained conservators should use fungicides. How can the average librarian remove mold from his/her books without having to vacuum (a measure I've found is not popular)? Thanks for your help. Laura Katz Smith Manuscripts Curator Special Collections Department Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Libraries *** Conservation DistList Instance 8:29 Distributed: Tuesday, October 25, 1994 Message Id: cdl-8-29-008 ***Received on Thursday, 20 October, 1994