How to Open a Book

Books are beautiful objects that hold an array of information and knowledge. In Preservation we are interested in more than the knowledge they hold, but also the physical objects themselves. A book is engineered not as a static thing that never moves, but as something that is constantly adjusted by the user. The spine must hold up to the various positions it is put in while being read. The pages face the external dangers of the food and drink of the reader (as well as pets looking for chew toys!). Given the joy and new worlds books provide us, we owe them the consideration they need to last as long as they can.

That is our goal in Preservation, and we have handling guidelines for our staff and patrons to that end. We suggest that rather than pulling a book from the shelf by its headband (which can result in tearing the spine piece), that you push back the two books on either side so that you can grip the book from both sides of the spine. If a book is too tall for a shelf, we want to store the book on its spine, rather than its fore-edge so gravity won’t pull the text block from the binding. And when we have rare items displayed for classes, we use book cradles to help support what are often fragile bindings, and ask that all food and drink be kept away from the materials.

Over the years we have come across kindred spirits from the past encouraging the same care for our beloved books. We’ve been delighted by the attention given to the specific dangers books face, and the (now) old-fashioned way they were presented to users and patrons.

Here is a notice from the International Textbook Company in Scranton, Pa., circa 1901, with detailed instructions on how to open a new book, as well as a delightful anecdote about a careless user who did it wrong!

And this one is from the Public Library in Detroit - the year is unknown - with a very specific breakdown of fees associated with the damage commonly made to their books, in an attempt to safeguard the books as long as possible.

What do you think? Should we charge for each grease spot found on the books at NC State University Libraries?

If you have any questions or are interested in viewing Special Collections materials, please contact us at library_specialcollections@ncsu.edu or submit a request online. 

The Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm and Saturday, 1pm–5pm. Requests for a Saturday appointment must be received no later than Tuesday of the same week.