Now you have several Andre Norton books, [or in my case several hundred,] and you want to protect them. There are different rules for each type of paper product. I will try to list several reference books after the article.

The basic rule is that books like the same kind of places that people like. Temperatures moderate, humidity standard. If a place is to hot (attics) or to cold (basements) or to dry (sunny window) or to wet (basements), your books won't be happy.

If you live in a location with a high humidity (Florida or Belgium) you are going to have to take some measures to prevent moisture building up on books, paintings, and walls. [I have seen beads of moisture forming behind the glass of a painting.] If you habitually store your books in a basement, you will again have to take some preventative measures, here mostly to keep the books up off of the floor and to prevent the furnace failure disaster. [I once bought a book that had the top surface coated with a fine black dust.]

General rules for any books

1. Don't pack books tight on the shelves. This makes getting a book out difficult and you tend to rip the top of the spine or dust jacket. Books also start to stick together.
2. Try to keep the books dust free.
3. Don't store in direct sunlight.
4. Never eat while reading your books. You could get crumbs or other food on your book. Bugs like food, and you don't want to encourage them.
5. Don't fold over the corners of pages. The location of a fold is the first place a page will fail.
6. Don't put photocopies, or newspaper clippings inside of a book unless they have been protected using some form of Mylar bag or encapsulation.
7. Don't use tape or adhesives. I even don't trust the non-acid archival stuff. If there is already some tape holding the dust jacket on, try to remove it without damaging the book. Of course if the tape has already yellowed, it will be easier to remove.
8. Try not to use thin bookends. Those metal edged bookends can cause 'knifing' of pages if you are not completely careful when putting books back on shelves. I suggest either using a block of plastic, or something covered with archival paper.

Hard Bound

• Get Dust jacket protectors. Fifty percent of the value of your hard cover is in the jacket. A $15 dollar book purchased at a library book sale, becomes a $150 or better book if you have the jacket.

Paper Bound

• Store in Mylar bags - open at top. This will keep the books dust free and prevent the covers sticking.

Magazines & stuff

• Store in Mylar bags
• Try to get backer boards (acid-free) to help support the height.
• Try to store these together in boxes or pamphlet files.

If keeping your books dust free means buying some of those glass front book cases. That is fairly easy to do. You can also just create a dust free room environment. Don't go crazy over this. The standard book case is usually pretty good unless you share the house with furred creatures, or have a particularly dusty furnace. I justified buying my first barrister book case, separate shelves, and glass fronts, by realizing that adding the price of two of my books, came to more than the book case cost. I have also thought of making plexi-glass fronts for my large wooden book case, or some sort of vinyl hanging (strips of 4 inch wide hanging from the front.) Any of these solutions will provide a dust barrier. BUT, don't make the area completely air tight, because you may encounter some of the problems of moisture.

My preference is for a Barrister's book case. These were patented in the 1940's and are separate shelves, each with a glass front door that slides into the case. A barrister's book case can cost $100 for a modern 3 shelf adaptation bought in Caldor (like K-mart or other large discount department store). The Leaded cut crystal front beauties, that were for sale at a local antique show last weekend, had price tags from $1200 to the $1400 for 3 and 4 shelf oak cases. My cases cost me between $400 to $700 each, but some of those old Norton books can be worth at least that much, so I'm protecting my books, AND the cases look nice in the living room.

I always suggest moving your bookcases out of direct sunlight. For me this means putting the cases on the south wall so the sun that does get in doesn't shine on the books. Or you could put the books against any wall, so that the just aren't in the sunniest place in the house. If you must put books in direct sunlight, move them. A book left for a year in a book store window gets bleached out. Protect what you have with curtains or shades.

I put my early paperback books in Mylar bags. These come in several sizes, and I find the size closest to the book, and tape over the side edge, leaving the top open. This keeps the books from sticking together, and I can still see the pretty covers.

Now most of you have read the previous stuff and said to yourselves; "Not read while eating! That woman is crazy." I am crazy, but I don't read my first editions while eating. I have, what I call, reading copies that I can risk getting food on. I need this especially since, if I'm reading, I'm not paying attention to eating. My reading copies are usually books that I picked up for $2. The reading copies are almost always paperbacks, unless one doesn't exist and then I look for an X-library copy, or make a photocopy of my original. Here I break my rules for protecting books. These are usually in Vinyl protectors. These are sturdy, though not archival. If these books stick together it doesn't matter.

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