The E-Sylum:  Volume 5, Number 11, March 10, 2002, Article 7

DON'T DUST!  DIRTY BOOKS LAST LONGER.

  Dick Johnson writes: "A report from London warms the heart
  of every busy bookman.  The National Trust [of England] runs
  the estates of 156 homes throughout the British Isles. They are
  currently engaged in a test to determine the optimum length of
  time between dustings.

  The Associated Press quotes one of the home's managers,
  Graham Crane: "Dust can corrode the books, but cleaning
  can also damage them; their spines are particularly fragile."
  There are an estimated half million antiquarian books among
  the libraries in these homes.

  The test consists of inserting tiny sticky sheets (3M Post-Its?)
  between books randomly throughout the library. The sheets
  are removed every three months and examined for the amount
  of dust collected.

  "That way we hope to find out which parts need cleaning
  more regularly and which can be left for longer," Crane said.

  Instead of a three-week cleaning job of 2,000 books at
  Dunster Castle every year, they are hoping this can be done
  only once every three years.

  I can send them some book dust samples that are at least 20
  years old!  My custom is to pick up a dusty book, hold the
  spine close to my lips and blow the dust off the top edge."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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