posted on November 16, 2005 06:17:36 PM
OVERLOADED WITH BOOKS? Salmen High School, a 9-12 public school in Slidell, Louisiana, was hit very hard by Hurricane Katrina. Our school is located very near Lake Pontchartrain and is about 20 miles north of New Orleans. All our buildings were completely covered by a tidal surge of about 15 feet.
Only rooftops were left visible. Nothing at all in our library is salvageable. We are currently platooning with another school in Slidell that was gracious enough to invite us to share its facilities. We hope to begin the rebuilding process after Christmas, and, needless to say, we will be starting from scratch. Our library consisted of 10 books per student (as per Southern Association Accreditation standards) for a total of about 11,000 volumes. We would be grateful for any assistance of any kind. Nancy McKee, Librarian, Salmen High School, c/o Northshore High School, 100 Panther Drive, Slidell, LA 70461, 985 649-6400 (Northshore High), 985 649-5987 (Library), Byron Williams, Principal
posted on November 17, 2005 08:36:07 AM
Amy, I'm assuming you got this in email or some such.
I'll pass.
Even assuming this call for help is genuine and not just a hint for cash, that there are clean and dry facilities available for sorting and storing books, that there is ample staff and resources to dispose of unwanted material, that the high school will actually have a place for a library any time soon (which is uncertain)...
It makes far more sense to contact city "Friends of the Library" groups which ALWAYS have a large number of donated books they need to dispose of. They should be given a book list.
It also makes far more sense to contact publishers and jobbers directly.
And wouldn't it be inspirational to get the kids themselves involved in this effort, so they can develop some social skills and see how the real world works?
I confess I am burned out on appeals for help from the hurricane region, especially since so much has gone to waste so far.
posted on November 17, 2005 08:59:23 AM
If the library was under feet of water, unless these are really rare and valuable books (doubtful) it would not be worth the time to try to salvage them. I've done book preservation before in my past life, but I've never dealt with a book submerged in water for days or weeks.
That being said, there are much better ways to rebuild. There are specific internet lists for libraries and librarians. I remember when I was dealing with withdrawing some technical science books that were no longer needed, instead of tossing them I posted on one of these lists (and that was a decade ago!) and libraries were happy to receive these items. I even sent some of these to libraries in Africa.
posted on November 17, 2005 11:27:44 AM
This was in a newsletter that I receive. I did try to find an email for the people listed to ask about what kind of books but was unsuccessful. During my research I found that their situation is not unusual that there are maybe 50 or more libraries down there in the same situation.
posted on November 17, 2005 02:28:11 PM
Thanks RH, I have tried that before and even used a cup of bleach inside a musty wooden box. Both work for a time but not permanently.
I have an old set of reference books that I keep isolated because I don't want them contaminating my bookcase. It would be nice to be able to have them more readily avaible.
posted on November 18, 2005 03:10:33 AM
Absorene: Seriously, folks, the best method of removing cigarette smell from books is Absorene paper and book cleaner. It's a pink clay that you apply like a sponge to the front and back of books. It absorbs the smell. On the ends of the books, apply very gently. The stuff is magic! You can order it through the Brodart catalog, or write to the Absorene MFG Co. at 1609 N. 14th St., St Louis, MO 63106 USA. Terrific stuff. Two cans will last all year! [Larry Burdick]
Activated Charcoal: I think charcoal or baking soda or any other odor absorber would also work. [Chris Volk/Shep Iiams]
Aftershave Lotion: Putting a book in an airtight container with aftershave lotion works. Best if the book is fanned open, and of course kept from getting the liquid lotion on the book. Moisten some kind of absorbent material in the bottom of the box with the book above it. The after shave lotion method is used by car dealers to freshen up a smelly car. They spray or put moistened rags in the car and keep it closed up for several days. (things you didn't need to know). []
Baking Soda or Talc: Baking powder absorbs both moisture and odors, but the process is tedious and messy and not guaranteed. Interleaving with powdered paper takes forever, so I reserve it for those [books] really worth reviving. I have used rice paper dredged in baking soda or unscented talc. There probably is some pre-powdered paper on the market. I've used both baking powder and baking soda. The powder is ground finer and so is more absorbent and harder to brush off. []
Baking Soda or Talc: One of the ideas was to put said smelly book in a plastic baggie with baking soda in the bottom. You should also put a layer of paper between the book and soda so there was no direct contact. I've gone the soda route and it works reasonably well - I've let the book "sit in it" for around two weeks. [Nate's Books ]
Carpet Deodorizer: I'm not sure if this would work for smoke but we use carpet deodorizer for books that smell musty or mildue. Might want to try it. [Amy ]
Carpet Deodorizer: Carpet de-odouriser non coloured-non scented variety. Use one called 'Neutradol' if you can get it. It is a white powder a bit like talc. Dust every page and the cover with it, then wrap it up for about two weeks (use a polyethelene freezer bag). The powder will come off easily with a small vacuum cleaner such as a Dust Buster, or brushing with a soft shaving brush. Hey presto, a smell-free book. [Broder's Books ]
Kitty Litter: Recently we purchased a math library which, while it had no apparent mildew, had that telltail odor. In addition, a couple of the volumes had "philandering pussy cat" musk about them. We plunged the books into the middle of a box of unscented clay clumping kitty litter, having first very lightly "misted" them with lysol. We held the lysol can approximately 4' above the books, and gave a very light psst! on the spray nozzle, letting the fine mist drift over them. After a week we pulled the books out of the box of kitty litter and behold, they no longer smelled. [Bree Books ]
Cedar Chips: Cedar chips have done wonders for me with all kinds of odors. You get a bag at a pet store, then put the books and a load of cedar chips in a plastic garbage bag or sealed carton for a period of time. The most difficult to deodorize are art books on coated papers. How long it takes depends on the odor, but the cedar chips leave no odor. [Evert Volkersz ]
Coffee Grounds: Some booksellers have had luck with removing mold/must smell from old paperbacks by placing them in a plastic bag, and placing an open container of coffee grounds in the bag, and then leaving for a week or so (seems to help if placed in a warm environment). The mold smell disappears, and the books, if aired for a couple of days before being placed on the shelfs, lose the coffee smell. Both used and un-used coffee grounds are said to work. Haven't heard if this works with hardcovers or other items. [John F. Kuenzig ]
Diss: Someone also suggested the use of diss... you know - that stuff they store with film that absorbes moisture. [Nate's Books ]
Fabric Softener Sheets: I got this suggestion from someone on AOL last year. Tried it with an ARC of Jurassic Park which must have lived its whole life in the smoking lounge...It pretty much worked, might have worked better if I'd been more diligent or used more strips... The suggestion is to take one or two of those dryer fabric softener sheets (I use Bounce), cut them into a few lengthwise strips and place the strips here and there inside the book. Then seal the book up in a plastic bag, strips and all, and wait for some period of time which I don't remember (I left my copy sitting around for months, but that wasn't really on purpose). Probably a week or so. And no, I have no idea whether this would be chemically bad for the book's paper; certainly my ARC wasn't any the worse for the treatment, that I noticed anyway. [Suzanne Saunders ]
White Vinegar: My pet way of getting rid of odors in books is thus: Put the book on thread spools [or something similar] in the microwave oven. Use another object to prop open the topside cover. DO NOT TURN ON THE OVEN!!! Place a saucer of white vinegar in the oven, and let it set overnight. One night usually takes care of it. The book may smell like vinegar for a few hours, but then is odor free. [Diane Johnson ]
Ozone: At Wells Books, we have converted an unused closet into an ozone chamber. Books from the homes of smokers or from smoke damage in house fires go into this "chamber" with our ozone machine going for a two hour session. This will remove almost all the smoke smell (also most mildew smell). This is the method used by the Royal B.C. Museum and by many companies specializing in insurance claims. We first started this when one of our stores had a serious fire. The ozone treatment if done many times over the life of a book might damage the make up of the paper. But then, badly smoked books would have a shorter life time anyway. What smell isn't removed can be wiped off with a treated sponge from a janitor supply store (again the type of thing used by the folks who clean up after house fires). We not only clean our own books, we would also provide a service to our customers on Vancouver Island. [Wells Books ]
