By a few coincidences, I have become a collector of old books. The problem is, I don’t really have anything to put them in. They’re just lying around on shelves. Anyway, I figure this can’t be too good for them, so I was wondering if anyone had tips on how to properly take care of them. They are anywhere from 80-300+ years old.
Thanks,
ants
Generic guidlines for paper\book storage
These things are bad:
excess moisture
sunlight
acid
bugs
oil
plastic
Do not seal them up in plastic, common preservation attempt booboo. If they are in good repair they can be loosely wrapped in acid free paper or if in poor repair stored in an acid free archival portfolio case. Try not to handle them too much if they are very old and\or very valuable without using white cotton gloves. The oils present on one’s fingertips can cause discoloration.
Sunlight will fade and also discolor paper goods
excess moisture will cause foxing (spots) and mildew problems. Don’t keep them in your basement or garage.
If you buy “new” old books, hold them in quarantine for a while to prevent possibly introducing silverfish or other book damaging bugs and mold.
My folks, and myself have been antique collectors for a number of years and have a fair bit of experience with books and paper goods. The most common mistake is wrapping up things in saran wrap or sticking them into ziplock bags in an attempt to preserve\protect. Not a good idea.
Keep them on a bookshelf on an interior wall away from windows and at a relatively stable temp. It’s a good idea to have dividers spaced regularly between books (plastic, sealed wood, coated metal) to prevent spreading damaging critters or mold spores from book to book.
I’m sure there are differing opinions but this is what has worked for me.
You can always get advice from your local library especially a university library with an archives dept. If you have specific questions, I have a sister in law who works at just such an archive. My wife is a librarian as well and we both are voracious readers. We moved more boxes of books than anything else when we moved.
Mark v.
Good advice from MarkV. Doing a Google search, many websites came up with good information on preserving books, this is just one of them:
http://www.salisburybookbinders.co.uk/careofbooks.html
MarkV, I’m a librarian and at one time owned more books and move those books more times than I want to remember. And when I asked friends for help moving, they came to state that they would help me move on one condition, that I move my books first by myself, they will help with all the rest.
MarkB
PS: I have a very small bookcase now not the walls that I once had.
Thanks, Marks! 
I’ll get right on it.
While on this subject, does anyone know of a way to remove the often-found musty smell from old books? I did a big Google search a few months ago, and the only thing that I found was an item that said to put the books in a closed container with baking soda (not touching the books) for a few weeks. I gave that a try, and it helped some, but it fell short of eliminating the odor. Any other remedies?
When I was at grad school studying to become a librarian, I had a special contratct job of cleaning smoke damaged books (a professor in another faculty had his office firebombed). To get rid of the smell I put the books in a cabinet with a door that closes tightly and but mothballs in an open container under the books but not touching them for about a week, then aired them in the open. It reduced most of the smell. It isn’t sure process but the only one I know of.
MarkB