Introduction

THE CARE AND HANDLING • To help preserve our collections and help fulfill
the Syracuse University Library’s mission of
OF BOOKS AND transforming the Library into the University’s
MANUSCRIPTS primary gateway for scholarly information, care
needs to be taken in the everyday handling of
materials. Covered in this talk will be guidelines
A Workshop for SUL SCRC Staff for:
– Retrieval
and Students – Reading Room Practices
– Photocopying
Prepared by Donia Conn – The storage of books
– Routing books to Conservation
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Retrieving Retrieving
• Do not pull the book
by the spine. This
causes damage to the • Pull books from the
headcap or can cause shelf by pushing the
the spine to detach. If two books adjacent to
not treated, this can the desired book in.
lead to the boards
detaching as well.

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Retrieving Retrieving
• Grasp the book • After you have pulled
between your fingers the requested books,
and pull out. do not leave gaps.
Unsupported books
• Put in the out slip so can tip over or even
there is a location fall off the shelf
record and so the causing severe
person re-shelving the damage.
book knows it is in the
proper place.
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 Retrieving Retrieving

• Help support the rest

of the shelf by moving • When placing books
the books gently (not on the cart, either
scraping across the stack flat according to
shelf) and replacing size or…
the book end.

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Retrieving Retrieving
• Stack manuscript
boxes only one-high
on the top shelf of a
cart. Stacked two-
• …use book ends. high there is the
potential for a toppling
domino effect going
over bumps.

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Retrieving:
Retrieving
Summary
• When pulling books or • Don’t pull the book by the spine but rather grasp
manuscripts from higher shelves, the spine between your fingers and pull out.
always use the ladders for your • Put in an “out slip” and support remaining books
safety as well as the materials. with the bookend.
• When pulling manuscript boxes • Support the books on the cart with a bookend or
from higher shelves, be careful, by stacking according to size.
the boxes may be heavy. • Stack manuscript boxes only one-high on carts.
• When pulling flat folios, get help • Use the ladders, beware of heavy manuscript
boxes and get help for extreme oversize volumes.
if the book is extra large or heavy.
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 Re-shelving In the Reading Room
• Do not put a book away that does not have an out
slip. Re-shelving without the out slip may result • For large volumes,
in the book being in the incorrect place and makes damaged bindings, or
it very difficult to find again. volumes with stiff
• When re-shelving a book, shift the books on the openings, use the foam
shelf so there is room and then re-shift so all the cradles and snakes
books are supported by the bookend. behind the desk.

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In the Reading Room In the Reading Room

• Be sure to enforce the
“pencil only” rule. • Remind the patrons
Removing a stray
not to take notes
pencil mark is easy.
Removing the stray directly on books or
mark from an ink pen manuscripts. This can
requires us to contract leave impressions, or
out to another worse, lead to stray
conservator due to the marks or tearing.
chemicals involved.
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In the Reading Room In the Reading Room

• Encourage the use of
• Encourage manuscript slips of paper as
users to use a place bookmarks.
holder to maintain the Notebooks, pencils,
order of items in etc. should not be used
folders and folders in as bookmarks since
boxes. they can break the
spine of the book.

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 In the Reading Room:
Photocopying
Summary
• Encourage the use of the foam cradles and snake • When photocopying
weights for large or stiff books. materials, it is
• Enforce the “pencil only” rule. important to maintain
• Don’t take notes with the notepaper directly on the the proper order of
book. items in the folder and
• Encourage the use of place holders in manuscript in the box. Use a
boxes. place holder so order
• Encourage the use of paper bookmarks not the use is preserved.
of notebooks, pencils etc.
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Photocopying Photocopying.
• When copying a book,
open to the required page
and place carefully on the
• DO NOT squash a book copier, supporting
book on the flat large bindings so they
copier! don’t fall off the copier.
• Do not close the lid of the
book copier. Mask off
around the book with plain
waste paper.

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Photocopying Photocopying
• Be VERY careful • When copying materials held together with a
when copying brittle paper clip, do not simply pull it off because it
material. will tear the paper. Remove as follows:
• Before copying any 1. Use a piece of Mylar as a barrier and slide a spatula
brittle bound volume, under the clip.
consult with the 2. Carefully lift the upper half of the clip while holding
conservation lab. down on the lower half so the paper does not rip.
• DO NOT use the form 3. Dispose of the paper clip and replace with a piece of
copy paper folded in half around the materials.
feed for ANY
manuscript or archival • Click to see a video clip of how this is done.
materials.
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 Photocopying:
Photocopying
Summary
• When copying materials held together with a
staple, do not use a staple remover, it will tear • Maintain order in manuscript boxes with a place
the paper. Remove as follows: holder.
1. Slide a spatula under one fold of the staple. • Do not squash books on the flat copier.
2. Carefully lift the fold so it is upright, supporting the • Carefully handle books when using the book
lower half so the paper doesn’t rip.
3. Repeat with second fold.
copier.
4. Flip over and carefully pull out staple. • Brittle material is VERY fragile, handle with care.
• If a stapled item is the only thing in a folder, do • Carefully remove paper clips and staples before
not re-staple when photocopying is complete. copying.
• Click to see a video clip of how this is done.
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Storing Books on Carts Storing Books on Carts

• DO NOT let books
• DO NOT stack books lean when storing on
such that smaller carts. This can
books are below damage the cover-
larger. This creates a textblock attachment
leaning tower that is and can lead to books
an avalanche in the sliding off the cart if it
making. gets bumped.

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Storing Books on Carts Storing Books on Carts

• DO NOT store large • Store books on a cart

books on their fore just as you store them
edges. This on the shelves - use a
encourages the book end to support
textblock to fall out of the books or stack
the case. them according to
size.

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 Storing Books on Carts: The Costs of Improper Handling
Summary and Storage
• Many of the books in
SCRC have been in use
• Stack books according to size or store for well over 100 years.
For example, the Ranke
upright with a bookend. Collection was originally
• Do not store large books on their fore edge, collected by Dr. von
Ranke as his private
even if you use a bookend. research collection.
SUL’s initally purchased
it to create a circulating
collection, it is now the
core of the SCRC rare
book collection.
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The Costs of Improper Handling The Costs of Improper Handling

and Storage and Storage
• Another contributing
• Because of its history factor in the damage to
of circulation, the the Ranke collection
Ranke collection has (and other individual
sustained a lot of volumes) is the
damage, best shown in environment in which
the number of spines they were stored for
that have gone the majority of their
missing. life. Photo courtesy of the Syracuse University
Archives
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The Costs of Improper Handling The Costs of Improper Handling

and Storage and Storage
• Before the advent of • Modern fluorescent
modern HVAC systems, lights are not a great
buildings were heated
with coal or wood, lit by
improvement. The
sunlight, oil or gas, and ultraviolet
lacked humidity control. wavelengths given off
These factors accelerate are almost as
the deterioration of damaging as sunlight
leather, paper and cloth and also cause the
making the materials weak
and more susceptible to
weakening of leather,
damage. cloth and paper. Photo courtesy of the Syracuse University
Photo courtesy of the Syracuse University Archives
Archives
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 The Costs of Improper Handling The Costs of Improper Handling
and Storage and Storage
• History is not the only • Some materials, however,
culprit. Deterioration is were inherently destined
an ongoing problem. to disintegrate. Paper
Damage occurs every day printed between 1850-
from handling materials.
1950, modern newspaper,
If care is not taken in
pulling, transporting, color photographs, slides
storing, using and and negatives and many
photocopying materials, adhesives used in
damage will occur that paperbacks will
takes time and money to deteriorate even in ideal
repair. situations.
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The Costs of Improper Handling

Routing to Conservation
and Storage
• Treating materials in • To help ensure our books
SCRC can take anywhere remain in usable
from 5 min. for a simple condition, any books
mend to several hours for requested by patrons or
a full treatment. The used by staff that need
Nuremburg Chronicle repair should be routed to
took 84 hours of labor to the conservation lab. To
complete. do this, either place on the
• Most repairs take around 2 conservation shelf in the
hours. re-shelving area or bring
Photo courtesy of Peter Verheyen the item to the lab directly.
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Routing to Conservation Routing to Conservation

Types of materials include: Types of materials include:
• Books with damaged
outer joints, inner • Books with their
hinges or endcaps. covers or spines
• These books do not falling off.
look like they need • If not taken care of the
much but it is a 15 textblock could get
minute repair versus a damaged or important
1 hour repair if it gets bindings may be lost.
left too long.
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 Routing to Conservation Routing to Conservation
Types of materials include: Types of materials include:
• Books where there is
damage to the • Books with
textblock such as unprotected dust
tears, loose or missing jackets.
pages, or loose or – An unprotected dust
missing plates. jacket is one that is not
• Manuscripts that are encased in a Mylar
sleeve, or has a
torn or fused together.
damaged sleeve.

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Routing to Conservation Routing to Conservation:

Types of materials include: Summary
• Books without hard • Books needing conservation should be put on
covers. the conservation shelf or brought into the lab.
• These books can be • Route books with damage to the case, joints,
phase boxed to protect boards, or pages.
the fragile paper
wrappers from
• Route books without Mylar dust jackets to the
neighboring hard lab.
bound books. • Route any books without hard covers for
boxing.
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Conservation’s Role:
Conclusion
What do we do?
• The Conservation Lab If we all work together to maintain and
provides a wide range of
treatments. Tissue improve the materials entrusted to our care,
rebacks are quick and help we can ensure that many generations of SU
retain the original covers,
recasing helps to protect students and researchers have access to our
the textblock and allow for unique and wonderful collection.
continued use, boxing
protects our brittle
materials and fine
bindings and rebinding
gives new life to a text
that is otherwise difficult
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to use.
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