They hold torn covers on. They protect very valuable books from light damage, dust, and mishandling. You will need to bring a few books from you collection and a few simple hand tools. The one conservation treatment administered to every item in your collection is the environment. Poor air conditioning, bad lighting, and slack housekeeping can destroy a collection.
Good practices can protect it from unnecessary loss.
This seminar will discuss the elements of a good preservation environment. It can be simple, but it requires some special knowledge and equipment. It also requires a staff commitment over the long term. A well thought out monitoring program can help raise funding for better air conditioning systems and can create administrative support for care of the collections.