Books are made up of organic materials (paper, wood, leather and cloth) that naturally deteriorate as they age. Adverse environmental conditions and careless handling accelerate this deterioration process. With proper care, the useable life of your books will be extended, whether they are rare books, treasured family heirlooms or modern publications.
Care and Handling
Ensure your hands are clean while using a book, and avoid eating, drinking or smoking while handling books.
When carrying books, carry only a few at a time or place them in an appropriate container for carrying.
Take a book from the shelf by reaching over the top of the book to the fore-edge and then gently pulling it out. Alternatively you can push back the books on either side of the one to be removed, giving enough room to get a firm hold on either side of the spine.
New books or tightly bound books can easily have their spines cracked if they are forced to open flat. When opening a new book for the first time, turn the pages section by section from the front, pressing gently along the fold. When you reach the middle repeat from the back. Repeat this several times.
If it is necessary to inscribe or make a note in a book, do this on the first blank page using a soft 2B pencil.
Use bookmarks to mark your place in a book. Strips of acid-free paper make the best bookmarks, as they won’t cause staining or discolouration if left in the book.
Dust can be damaging to books. Prevent dust accumulating by routinely cleaning shelves and books. Remove all books one shelf at a time. Check for signs of mould, insects or rodents. Hold the book firmly by the fore-edge keeping it tightly closed to avoid pushing dust down into the pages. Using a soft brush sweep along edges, always brushing away from the spine. Dust books outside or in a well-ventilated area.
Storage
Books need a stable temperature and relative humidity. Warm, humid conditions can promote mould growth and dry conditions will cause paper and leather to dry out and become brittle. Avoid storage in attics, basements and sheds, and potentially humid areas such as kitchens and bathrooms. If you are storing books in boxes always make sure boxes are off the floor to keep them safe from damp and the risk of damage in a flood.
Bookshelves should not be positioned against an outside wall or exposed to strong light such as sunlight, spotlights or fluorescent lighting. Exposure to light will cause fading of leather and bookcloth, and discolouration of paper. Use curtains and blinds to keep out direct light.
Books need to be shelved upright so that they support each other. Shelve books of similar size together. Do not pack the shelves so tightly that books are difficult to remove.
Avoid pushing books to the back of the bookshelf. A space needs to be left between the fore-edge of books and the back of shelves to allow for air circulation and the safe removal of books. Good ventilation is important to reduce the risk of mould growth.
Large heavy books such as family bibles and books that are fragile should stored flat. Individual books which are particularly valuable and those with loose pages or detached covers can be wrapped in acid-free tissue and tied with flat cotton tape or housed in purpose-made archival boxes.
How do I know if a book is rare, valuable, or historically important?
Many factors affect a book's value.
Date
Books printed before 1800 (before the machine-printing era) can be considered rare. Many books were still hand-printed through the 19th and 20th centuries, and some books are still made in this way. Hand-printed books can be valuable. Because early printing in New Zealand was limited to one or two small presses, any book printed here before 1880 could be considered rare, though there are many exceptions.
Provenance
The more that is known of the history of the book and its previous owners, the more interesting it can be. Famous or important previous owners add to value. Any bookplates, signatures, hand-written notes in the margins and blank leaves should remain in the book.
Binding
Not all valuable books have leather bindings. Many important New Zealand books are bound in cloth or paper.
Edition and rarity
First and special editions are often much more valuable than later ones. However, some reprints or facsimiles look like much older books.
Market value
Relatively few books published in the past 150 years are likely to have a high market value. You can research the value of a book using the publication Book Auction Records (check your local library for a copy) or the Bibliofind website http://www.bibliofind.com/.
Most book dealers will provide a valuation service. In some cases they may charge a small fee.
Should I repair a damaged book?
Repairing or rebinding a book is unlikely to increase its value and may devalue it. A book’s history (including its wear and tear) is part of its value and interest to collectors and rare book libraries. Generally the more valuable, rare or historically important the book, the more reason not to have it repaired.
Repairing a book does not necessarily mean it will last longer. It is better to protect and stabilise damaged books or bindings by wrapping them in an acid-free tissue or placing them in archival boxes.
Never apply pressure sensitive tapes (e.g. Sellotape, masking tape), self-adhesive labels or repair tapes to books, as they will cause staining and damage.
Leather dressings and polishes are potentially damaging and should not be used.
Safe Repairs
If you do want to repair a book, consult a professional conservator. The New Zealand Conservators of Cultural Materials website has a directory of professional conservators in New Zealand.
Go to the New Zealand Conservators of Cultural Materials website
Some things to bear in mind when having a book repaired:
- Repairs should be as minimal as possible. All the original parts of the book can be re-used.
- Don’t throw any of the book’s parts away. Often the first few pages of a book have important personal history written on them.
- Pages should not be trimmed, even if they are worn at the edges.
- Missing parts of a book should not be replaced with facsimile pages
- Only reversible adhesives should be used.
- Repairs should be sympathetic to the original item; a bright white end paper may not suit a book that has old, cream-coloured pages.
More information
Preservation advice
Contact the National Preservation Office Te Tari Tohu Taonga
Contact the Alexander Turnbull Library
Valuations
Smiths Bookshop
133 Manchester St, Christchurch
Phone: (03) 379 7976
Email: books@smiths.bookshop.co.nz
Website: www.smiths.bookshop.co.nz
Quilters Bookshop
110 Lambton Quay, Wellington
Post: PO Box 958, Wellington
Phone: (04) 472 2767
Smiths Bookshop Ltd
Post: PO Box 10-265, Wellington
Phone: (04) 971 3273
Email: Rowan.Gibbs@paradise.net.nz
Bethunes@Webb's Rare Books
18 Manukau Road, Newmarket
Post: Auckland 1023
Phone: (09) 529 5602
Fax: (09) 524 7048
Email: bethunes@webbs.co.nz
Website: www.bethunesbooks.co.nz, www.webbs.co.nz/department/rare-books
Anah Dunsheath – Antiquarian Booksellers
6 High Street, Auckland
Post: PO Box 4181, Auckland
Phone: (09) 379 0379
Email: Info@rarebooks.co.nz
Website: www.rarebooks.co.nz
