For what it’s worth…
A library is a repository of wisdom of great thinkers of the past and the present. It is a social institution charged with the responsibility of disseminating knowledge to the people without any discrimination. The holdings of the libraries are the priceless heritage of mankind as they preserve facts, ideas, thoughts, accomplishments and evidences of human development in multifarious areas, ages & directions. The past records constitute a natural resource and are indispensable to the present generation as well as to the generations to come. Any loss to such materials is simply irreplaceable. Therefore, preserving this intellectual, cultural heritage becomes not only the academic commitment but also the moral responsibility of the librarians / information scientists, who are in charge of these repositories. Besides, proper dissemination of library materials is possible if the documents are in good and usable condition. This demands for the proper preservation and conservation of the library materials. Any librarian responsible for the preservation of these documentary heritages should know the various causes of deterioration of the library materials and the possible methods for their preservation. Except a few libraries, all others have paper based reading materials in the form of manuscripts, books, periodicals, paintings, drawings, charts, maps etc.. The basic materials and constituents of the physical entity of these library materials are mostly organic in nature, which are susceptible to natural decay and deterioration. In books, apart from paper the other materials used are board, cloth, leather, thread, ink, adhesive etc.. All these materials used are nutrition to some living organisms. So the library materials need protection from factors of deterioration. FACTORS OF DETERIORATION Deterioration is a change of original state of any material by interaction between the object and the factors of destruction. The different types of deterioration of the paper based materials are reflected in wear and tear, shrinkage, cracks, brittleness, warping, bioinfestation, discoloration, abrasion, hole, dust and dirt accumulation etc. Generally library materials are susceptible to deterioration by the following factors:- 1. Enviornmental (climatic Factors) factors like light, heat, humidity and moisture,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237645834_PRESERVATION_OF_LIBRARY_MATERIALS_SOME_PREVENTIVE_MEASURES