Frequently Asked Questions

Our experts share their experience and explain how to care for books and documents.

Should I use Leather Dressing on my books?
What should I do with flood/ fire damaged books + paper?
What is the best way to mount and frame?
Can I bring a book/document in for inspection by conservation?
What is the best way to store and care for books and paper?
Can you recommend a conservator?
Where can I find conservation-quality materials?
How can I store loose documents that are becoming damaged?
How can I digitise or scan a book/document?
I have found a silverfish in my collection of books, what shall I do?

1. Should I use Leather Dressing on my books?

The Preservation Advisory Centre provides useful information on this in their list of frequently asked questions.

2. What should I do with flood or fire damaged books and paper?

Fire and water damaged collections can be extremely fragile and handling them can result in further damage if care is not taken. It is strongly recommended that you seek the advice of a conservator before taking any action.

Many conservators have training in disaster recovery and there are a number of companies that specialise in this type of work. In the UK, the Conservation Register will provide you with useful information.

If you need to move damaged books before you get conservation assistance ensure that you give them full support when you do so. Avoid opening them, especially if they are wet, as they will be structurally very vulnerable.

If any of your books have very smooth white pages as often seen in art books, these may be coated papers which can stick together during the drying process - and often quite early in the drying process. If you think any of your books might have this paper, make sure you mention this to the conservator you contact – the books may require urgent attention.

3. What is the best way to mount and frame?

There are several ways to mount and frame an item. The preferred method will depend on:

What is being mounted: is it paper, vellum, textile, a photograph?
The media: a print, a watercolour, a pastel, pencil drawing, whether it has seals affixed or attached by cords or tapes
Whether it is double sided or single sided
The condition of the item being mounted

However the principles of mounting and framing are common for all items. A mount should provide a supportive, secure and stable environment for the storage and display of the item.

Generally mounts are made up of the following:

For the best protection of your item, conservation or Museum quality acid-free mounting materials should be used.
A back mount to support the item and to isolate the back of the item from framing materials. The method of attachment of the item to the back mount varies but items are usually hinged and should not be stuck down to the back mount. For most single sided paper items the item is attached by Japanese paper hinges and starch paste.
A front mount that has an aperture or window that frames the item. This window performs the important function of keeping the glazing material out of direct contact with the item after framing. This is to prevent the media on the item sticking to the glazing.
If there is no window mount or if the item does not lie flat and the window mount is not deep enough to separate the glazing material from the item, spacers need to be placed in the frame.
For the best protection of your item, conservation or Museum quality materials should be used.

Frames also need to be of good quality materials to protect the items stored within them.

A range of different glazing materials can be used. If the item is very large, it is recommended that you use Perspex instead of glass to cut down on weight. Perspex with a special coating to prevent UV reaching the item will provide the best protection from light damage and fading.
When selecting the wood for the frame, it is important to be aware that some woods give off organic acids that can damage items.
The back board of the frame protects the mount within and seals the back of the frame. As backboards are often made of poorer quality materials conservators may place a barrier layer such as aluminium foil between the backboard of the frame and backboard of the mount. The back board is sealed against the ingress of dust, dirt and insects with paper tape.
For greater protection against the ingress of dust and dirt and insects the glazing and the back board should be sealed to the frame with acid-free paper tape. The back mount should also be sealed to the frame with acid-free paper tape.

For further information explore the links on our links page or contact a conservator via the Conservation Register.

4. Can I bring a book ordocument in for inspection by conservation?

The conservators at the British Library work exclusively on British Library collections or items included in our Loans and Exhibitions programmes. We do not take on conservation work for individuals or other organisations.

Since the new British Library Conservation Centre opened in May 2007, the Conservation section holds advice days every three months. These generally take place on a Saturday and they are advertised on the website.

If you want a conservator to undertake conservation work for you, visit the Conservation Register. This website covers conservators in every conservation discipline within the UK and Ireland and allows you to search by geographical location and/or specialism.

5. What is the best way to store and care for books and paper?

The Preservation Advisory Centre has useful information on this topic in a list of frequently asked questions.

6. Can you recommend a conservator?

If you want a conservator to provide advice or undertake conservation work for you, go to the Conservation Register.

7. Where can I find conservation-quality materials?

The Preservation Advisory Centre provides information on sources of conservation materials in their list of frequently asked questions.

8. How can I store loose documents that are becoming damaged?

You can keep loose cuttings and papers in individual polyester or polypropylene sleeves, and these can be protected in acid-free archival boxes or files. If the documents are folded, it is advisable to open them out flat. Repeated folding and unfolding can lead to splitting along the folds.

Most of the sleeves can be purchased ready made with holes punched to allow them to be used in ring binders.

Once in the sleeves the papers can be handled, viewed and photocopied – but only use a flat bed copier and try to limit the number of times you copy them. If an item is particularly fragile, you could insert acid -free board into sleeve to support the paper. For fragile items, polyester sleeves are preferred as they usually have more rigidity than polypropylene sleeves .

Make sure that the acid-free boxes or files are light enough to handle easily, do not overload. If you are storing photographs this way, take care not to have too much weight on top of them as the emulsion can stick to the sleeve. This can also happen to laser printed documents and photocopies.

9. How can I digitise or scan a book/document?

Digitisation can be a valuable way of either reducing the use of or extracting hidden information from your original material. Multi-spectral imaging and more traditional high-end scanning is now becoming more accessible to the conservator. There are a number of different ways of achieving your results dependant upon your final usage. The British Library has experts in the digitisation field covering all activities from creation through to long-term preservation.

Useful contacts
For digital services, please contact Chris Lee x7997or Andrew Austin x7606.

Other useful sources of information:
Technical Advisory Services for Images
AHDS: Arts and Humanities Data Service
JISC: The Joint Information Systems Committee
DPC: Digital Preservation Coalition
Digital Curation Centre