Deterioration of Library Resources and its Causes: Theoretical Review

Zainab Usman Mahmood1; Hauwa Muhammed Mari2

1
Library Department, Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria
zainabusman1980@yahoo.com
2
Library Department, Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria
hajjaju4reel@yahoo.com

Abstrak – People using library materials in a normal way will cause some
inevitable damage. The amount of damage that occurs can be reduced by proper
handling. Willful acts that damage library materials, such as underlining and
cutting pages out of books, are inexcusable and must not be done. This paper
examines the issues of Deterioration of Library Resources and its Causes. The
study is descriptive in nature and used information that are secondary in nature.
Documentation analysis was used in compiling the secondary

Key Words – Library Resources Document; deterioration; Resources utilization

1 Introduction

Deterioration of library materials caused by natural elements, such as temperature and humidity
extremes, light, air-born pollutants, mold and pests, is usually gradual and cumulative, and is always
irreversible. Some library materials deteriorate more quickly than others because they are made from
materials that are inherently unstable, such as acidic paper. Natural disasters, such as floods or fires,
and building problems, such as leaking roofs or dysfunctional HVAC systems, may cause more
immediate deterioration.

The materials of which library and archive collections are composed, namely paper, parchment, palm
leaves, birch bark, leather and adhesives used in bookbinding, are susceptible to two main forms of
deterioration. One is biological deterioration caused by insect attack and/or fungal growth, and the
other form of deterioration is caused by adverse environmental conditions such as extremes of
dampness or wide fluctuations in relative humidity associated with large variations in day and night
temperatures, light and atmospheric pollutants. These two forms of deterioration are interconnected
because humid conditions favor the growth of fungi and accumulations of dust and dirt will attract
insects (Maravilla, 2008).

2 Biological Factors

Where there is condensation or moisture due to high humidity, there is always the presence of
biological growths such molds or fungi, insects and rodents causing infestation. Biological agents
attack paper and other organic materials when both temperature and humidity are uncontrolled. Mold
spores remain suspended in the air until they find suitable conditions for their growth. If mold is
observed in the collection yet environmental conditions are not altered to halt its proliferation, the
mold will digest the material on which it has begun to grow. This results in the staining and

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deterioration of materials attacked and in rapid loss of strength of organic materials. The growth of
fungi is revealed by the formation of whitish patches on book covers and documents, which later may
become brownish or greenish in color. It is a common experience to note that this mold growth occurs
more readily on items made of organic materials that are tightly packed, and this is due to the fact that
a thin, stagnant pocket of moist air is formed which favors mold growth.

In addition to high temperature and humidity, man's negligence also favors the growth and
proliferation of insects. The following manifests such negligence:
a. accumulations of dirt and dust from poor or careless housekeeping practices;
b. introduction of foodstuff to storage and exhibit areas;
c. entry of insect-infested items into the collection;
d. open windows, air vents or poorly sealed windows and doors;
e. unattended roof leaks and cracks in a deteriorated museum building; and,
f. poor ventilation.

3 Deterioration of Paper Caused By Insects

Termites are small, yellowish or whitish social insects that live in wood and under the ground. They
live under conditions in which humidity within the colony is maintained at a high level. In books, they
produce deep, crater-shaped holes, or deep, irregularly shaped erosions; sometimes this leads to almost
total destruction of the volume and bring about irreparable loss or damage.

Silverfish are wingless insects with long antennae and usually with three (3) long, tail-like appendages
that are of silver-gray color. They are usually found in moist locations, that is, under stones and
boards, cracks and crevices or in dark places where humidity is greater than 55%. This type of insects
cause superficial damage to paper of irregular outline, but much smaller than that caused by
cockroaches, especially the glossy type, books and documents, and wallpaper, and, eats away glue,
paste, etc.; also attacks photographic plates and gelatin.

Cockroaches are nocturnal insects that have reddish brown color and fetid odor. Cockroaches hide in
warm, damp and dark places like the bathroom, floors of kitchen, under the sink, near water pipes,
crevices, cabinets and cupboards. They cause superficial erosion of irregular outline; a blackish
"comma" shape mark on paper is a positive indication of the presence of cockroach.

Booklice are small soft-bodied insects that have relatively large heads, fairly long antennae and
strong-toothed mandibles. Booklice cause tiny superficial erosions of irregular outline to paper,
leather, gelatin of photographic plates, watercolors, parchment, glue and gum of bookbinding.

Case-bearing clothes moth thrives in undisturbed and unventilated areas that destroy bookbinding.

Powder post beetles have leathery front wings forming a sheath for the membranous under-wings.
They have long antennae of various shapes, 2 to 5 mm long and dark red to black in color. They bore
holes into books and other organic materials.

Deathwatch beetles winding, circular tunnels which generally extend from the edges to the book's
center; the mixture of eroded material and feces that fills the tunnels is known as "frass".

Carpet beetles cause irregular perforations and sometimes surface tunnels containing powdery
excrement and cast-off larval skins on books and other paper organic materials.

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Vol 01, No. 04, April 2013, pp. 773-778

4 Temperature and Relative Humidity

Temperature and relative humidity have been shown to be interdependent. Hygroscopic materials that
normally contain moisture are the most sensitive to over-drying. These hygroscopic materials are those
of organic origin and of fibrous or cellular structure, such as paper, parchment, papyrus, leather and
notably the adhesives used in bookbinding. Paper and related materials, on the other hand, deteriorate
rapidly with temperature and relative humidity changes.

There are some evidence that regular changes in temperature and relative humidity (cycling) can lead
to weakening of paper and related materials, as a result of internal stresses set up in them in response
to these changes. There are no firm data to indicate how serious this effect may be, but scientists do
not believe that it results in measurable damage to these materials if such changes in temperature and
relative humidity can be held to less than 10 degrees and 15%.

5 Light

Apart from other causes earlier discussed, light can, to a large extent, be regarded as an independent
and prime cause of deterioration of museum objects. The type of materials forming part of the museum
collection that are subject to damage by light are pigments and dyestuff, including inks; paper and
other cellulose materials; and, various other organic materials.

Pigments and dyestuff fade when exposed to light and this is very noticeable in water colors.
Unfortunately, colors fade selectively, some disappearing while other remain unchanged, which means
that the color relationships of a painting can be grossly distorted.

Rapid and serious deterioration of paper is caused by the oxidation of cellulose brought about by the
ultraviolet rays in sunlight and fluorescent light. There are two effects of light on paper that result in
its ultimate embitterment and deterioration. First, it has a bleaching action that causes some whitening
of paper and fading of colored papers and certain inks. Second, it causes any lignin, which may be
present in the paper, to react with other compounds and turns it yellow or brownish. It is this reaction
that results in newspapers' turning yellow on exposure to light.

6 Atmospheric Pollutants

Materials of organic origin such as leather, parchment and artifacts in which cellulose fibers such as
paper products form the support are likely to be soiled and stained by solid particles of carbon, tarry
matters and other solid contaminants. The worse contaminants for this group of materials are sulfurous
and sulfuric acids resulting from the combustion of fuels and from other industrial processes. The
effects are severe with cellulose materials such as paper and leather. There is a close correlation
between the loss of strength of paper and its acidity resulting from sulfuric acid contamination. Dust
and dirt particles in the air not only carry with them the adsorbed pollutants mentioned above but may
exert an abrasive action on books and paper.

7 Preventive Measures for Biological Factors

Since stagnant air, dampness, dark and dingy places in a library facilitate the growth of biological
pests, good housekeeping and maintenance of optimum storage condition is necessary to control the
propagation of the insects. Provision of cross windows, ventilators, exhaust fans ensures good
circulation of air but at times it is necessary to circulate the air inside the room with electric fans. It is

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preferable to avoid contact of book racks with walls (at least 15 cm away from the walls) to eliminate
dampness. Attending to cracks, crevices and loose joints in floors and walls eliminate the possibility of
insect hiding in these places. Presence of edibles inside the library should not be allowed. Periodic use
of insecticidal powder of solution like lindane at the dark corner walls, beneath the racks and almirahs
is a good precautionary measure to prevent insects. It is safe to use paradichloro-benzene as it acts
both as an insect repellent and insecticide.

A simple practice is to keep naphthalene bricks on the shelves as it repels the insects from coming to
the book racks. Dry neem leaves, neem seed powder and camphor tablets tied in muslin bags should be
kept inside the racks for keeping the pests away. The foundation of all the new library buildings should
be given anti-insect treatment.

8 Chemical Factors

In the manufacturing of paper sometimes fibers are used with low cellulose contents and some
chemical compounds like alum, rosin etc. are used for sizing of paper which cause acidic effect and
facilitate chemical deterioration of the paper with the passage of time. Besides, in the atmosphere
among various constituents unwanted materials such as oxides of carbon, sulphur, nitrogen and
hydrogen sulphides are also present.

Because of the absorption of the chemicals by the moisture absorbed by the paper, the library materials
get affected. The notable deleterious substances for the library materials are sulphur dioxides, oxides
of nitrogen and ozone. Sulphur dioxide is a hazard to cellulose materials like paper and cloth (Jeyraj,
1995). The most familiar effect in libraries is the brown and brittle edges of books caused by sulphur
dioxide. Most of the nitrogen dioxide comes from automobile exhausts & when it combines with
oxygen and water turns into nitric acid. This nitric acid has strong acidic effects and attacks the dyes in
ink, cloth, paper and leather. Ozone acts as a powerful destroyer of organic materials. It makes the
colours of fabric book covers fade and the book binding materials such as leather, gelatin, glue and
paste are also susceptible to deterioration by ozone in humid atmosphere.

9 Preventive measures for chemical factors

According to Jeyraj, (1995), if the air pollution is controlled there will not be any external acidity in
the paper materials. One of the best ways of controlling atmospheric pollutants is filtering of the air
intake in to storage areas, which can be attained by air conditioning system operating for 24 hours
throughout the year. Without this facility simple measures like wrapping the books and manuscripts in
cloth or placing them in book containers reduces the effects of pollution to a great extent. The books
kept inside cupboards are better protected than those which are kept outside. Documents kept inside
folders are safer than those which are kept in the open. Proper care should be taken to save books and
documents from dust. It is preferable to use vacuum cleaner and fine brushes for dusting of shelves
and books. No chemical formulations should be directly applied on to the book covers, since these
may have an adverse effect on the books as well as users of the books and staff of the library. Wooden
storage should be avoided as it gives off volatile acidic vapours.

If it is to be used it must be covered with coats of acrylic emulsion paint. Besides, acid free paper,
board and good quality materials should be used for repair and restoration of documents.

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Vol 01, No. 04, April 2013, pp. 773-778

10 Human Factors

To Bokhare, (1997), apart from physical and chemical factors, a serious cause of deterioration often is
the casual attitude of the library staff as well as the users of the library towards books as physical
objects. Librarians in charge of the documentary heritage are directly responsible for the overall
conservation and preservation of their collections. But they are not always aware how to handle, store
and use collections carefully to minimize damage and help preservation. The standard of care and
handling of books by their custodians and users is often pretty low. Improper storage, faulty
repairment, rough handling, deliberate abuse, folding the fore-edges of pages as a mark of reading,
marking by ball pen, mutilation, vandalism are all examples of deterioration of books by human
beings.

11 Preventive Measures for Human Factors

According to Agarwal, and Barkeshli (1997), there are certain do’s and don’ts which the library staff
and the users should follow to increase the longevity of the library resources. These are among others:
a. Important books and manuscripts should kept in specially prepared containers.
b. For carrying a large number of books trolleys should be used. Utmost care should be taken while
transporting rare, valuable and delicate books.
c. Care should be taken while photocopying the books as at that time considerable stress is imposed
on the material and the bindings suffer most and also the spine damages.
d. Use bookends to support books when shelves are not full. Books should not be shelved too tightly
or too loosely.
e. It must be always ensured while opening the books, pages are not torn or covers are not damaged.
To turn a page lift the top corner and lightly slip the finger tips down the fore-edge supporting the
page.
f. Pages should never be folded otherwise creases will be formed and they may be torn at the folds.
Corner of pages should not be folded to mark pages.
g. Avoid licking of fingers as an aid to turn pages.
h. Underlining must be avoided.
i. Books should not be left open on the reading table, face downwards.
j. Leaning on an open book should be avoided since this can damage the spine and binding.
k. Never allow a book to stand on its fore edge.
l. When a book is displayed open, never use metal clips or pins to hold book pages open.

References

Agarwal, O.P. and Mandana, B. (1997)). Conservation of Books, Manuscripts and paper documents,
Lucknow: INTACH, ICCI.
Guidelines for Control and Prevention of Termite Infestation in Archives and Libraries, (1991). New
Delhi: National Archives Of India.
Jeyraj, V.(1995). Care of Archival Materials, Thanjavur saraswati Mahal Series No: 395.
IFLA Principles For The care and Handling of Library Materials International Preservation Issues One
Bokhare, Narendra. (1997). Conservation of Manuscripts: Prevention is Better Than Cure-
Conservation of Cultural Property in India. Vol 30. New Delhi: p52-63
Gupta, C.B. & Haider, S.H. (1995). Conservation Practices in Ancient India-CCPI, vol-28, New Delhi:
P36
Prasad, Lalan Kumar. (1995). Protection of Documents from Photo Chemical Effects of Light-CCPI,
vol- 28, New Delhi: p45-49

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Uniyal, C.P. (1995). Preventive Conservation of Archival Materials: Some Rather Ignored but Vital
Aspects- CCPI, vo-28, New Delhi: p50-55
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