How to Rescue a Wet, Damaged Book: A Handy Visual Primer

How to save those wet, damaged books? The question has to be asked. Above, you can watch a visual primer from the Syracuse University Libraries–people who know something about taking care of books. It contains a series of tips–some intuitive, some less so–that will give you a clear action plan the next time water and paper meet.

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Comments (4)
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  • Asta says:

    Except, you should not press down the covers first, as this will only further distribute water residue across the pages (instead, fan the pages and shake them off first). Also, straightening the corners of the pages before putting the book under press/weight will ensure that the leaves line up tighter. (Just my biblio OCD talking:)

  • Claire Jeanine Satin says:

    Information: damage to books after they have been sitting for a long while when they were damaged by water. How to treat them? Salvageable ?

    Thank you for your help

    Also how to treat fixing ?

  • Claire Jeanine Satin says:

    How to correct foxing on paper and fabric on books?

  • Jamey Gladney says:

    What is your suggestion on how to clean bug excrement from books that have been stored?

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