RE: Reeking Chinese books

[Chandru Shahani <csha@xxxxxxx>]

I would suggest two possibilities to Ms. Heller:

1. Ask the Chemistry Department at the University for the use of a working fumehood for one week.  Keep the door of the fumehood open about a foot or less, and stand a few sample books upright so that they are fanned open.  If the odor level comes down significantly over a weekend or a week at most, you are in luck.  You can continue with this approach if the number of books is manageable.  If you have too many books, you will need to find a large vacuum or fumigation chamber, where successive vacuum and aeration cycles should achieve the same end, but much more efficiently.
2. The other possibility was already mentioned by Ellen McCrady of Abbey Publications of  in her message - that of an ozone treatment.  With the limited literature I have seen on ozone interactions with cellulose, I am inclined to think that ozone treatments for short durations - a week or two - may not pose a significant enough risk to the long-term life of books, although some colors on book covers may fade.  At the same time, I am not in a position to vouch that there would be absolutely no long-term damage to the books.  Therefore, I would recommend this treatment only as a last resort before you are ready to trash the books.

While you decide what to do with the books, they would be better off without the plastic wrap in an isolated, but well-ventilated area where you have a better chance of reducing the odor level rather than containing it.  Good luck.

Chandru Shahani
Preservation Research & Testing Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 707-5607

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