The times., 1899-01-09
A GREAT CLEANING.
The Renovation of the British Mu-
scum Library.


From the London Globe)
The great British Museum Library has
been undergoing its semi-annual cleaning
and at the beginning of the present month
emerged spick andspan from the hands OF
army of attendants. 1t takes 12O able
bodied men five or six full days of hard
work to renovate the library. The clean
ings occur during the first and second
weeks of April and September of each year.
The cost of the labor and of the materials
used varies considerably, but, if the wages
of the workmen be considered, it never
falls lower than HSO0. Through the cour
tesy of the clerk of the works OF the Mu-
scum. Mr.. Charles Pullman. and of sundry
members of the staff, the following facts
concerning the autumn and spring clean
ings were obtained:
The library is closed for the period of
washing save in the cases of a few spe
cial leaders, the urgency of whose work
induces the keeper Of printed books to al
low them access to the Long Room. These
privileged people, however. must be pre-
pared to put up with considerable discom-
| fort, as the horde of mop and broom
wielders are relentless in their pursuit of
cleanliness. Indeed, the corporal's guard
of readers thus permitted TO remain are
so harried and chased from chair to chair
and from table to table that they fire.
qeuntly do their work atop OF ladder. so
as to be out of the way of dust and dis
traction. The cleaning is thorough. Ev
cry square inch of the kamptulicon COM
position with which the floors are covered
is carefully inspected. Wherever a piece
shows sigCs OF being worn 1T is cut out
and replaced. A layer of gum is spread
over the floor, and on this the kamptulcon
is laid. Then an iron roller, of the kind
used on suburban lawns is passed over
smoothed out. When the kamptulicon is
all in place, the washing brigade gets down
| TO work. II takes a statute mile of india
rubber piping TO carry the water to these
toilers, and this, it must BE- remembered
suffices only to cleanse a section of the
vast area at a time. When one mile of
gallery and reading room has been flush
ed and washed the hOsepipe is shifted to
another.
While the washermen are splashing hith-
and thither, the desk inspectors and
book inspectors are not idle. The duty of
| the former is to examine all the desks and
| chairs in the library, and report in every
case where repairs are needed. About
| sixty chairs get broken or seriously dam
| aged very half year. Nearly a hundred
| lose their castors. The inkwells attached
! TO the desks have to be cleaned out and
| the lamps and shades rigdly inspected.
1
ume. That is done systematically through
out the year. They simply remove the vol
| umes, dust them. and sprinkle the shelves
| with equal portions of powered camphor
| and finely chopped tobacco. This is done
| to keep OFF the insidious bookworm, and
the tobacco bill Of the British Museum an
! nually exceeds that of a dozen smokers.
| The tobacco leaves are specially chopped
| by well-known firm Of tobacconists and
| the dust is blown from a bellCws-like ap-
paratus along the shelves. This will ex-
| plain what has long puzzled re.ders VIZ.
why there attaches to all British Museum
| books faint flavor of the herb nicotin. -
All books whereof the bindings appear in
a bad condition are either doctored on the
spot or sent out for rebindIng. The dilap-
| idated leather is plastered with paste TO
| fill up holes. and the beaten yolk Of an
egg is then laid on with a sponge. Be
fore the composition dries a hot iron is
passed over it, and the binding looks al
most as good as new.
There are a number of old recipes for
cleaning and renovating books. removing
| stains. etc. preserved in the Library
| archives. These have been handed down
from generation to generation. and some
| OF them are secrets which many ardent
| bibliophiles would like to possess
| When the general washing and inspect
| ing over, the painters and po!ishers
| begin their task, while a regiment of wo-
| men mot enumerated in the regu ar force.
| hut set down by the clerk Of the works
as 'auxiliaries'D start fires through the
| reading rooms and corridors Heat is alb
| solutely necessary after the cleaning. as
| damp is fatal 10 books. producing mildew.
| disease which cannot BE- cured and
which Sir Edward Maunde Thompson.
| principal librarian. once described as
corresponding in books to consumption
| among human beings"
| 1t was the hope CT Mr.. c. X FortesGue.
| keeper of printed books. that thu great
| ceiling Of the reading-room could be re-
| painted this autumn. but unfortunately
there was no time for the work To be car
| ried out. The ceiling. which is now ot Il
| dull bro%n hue picked out with some
| what faded gliding. was to be colored n
| white and gold. The effect would have
| been TO add an air of light to the huge
room, which Is now decidedly gloomy on
| dark days, owing to the sombre tints of
| the dome The mi A. cf brasswork en- the
| shelves and gallery ratings were. how
| ever, cleansed and polished until they
| look almost new.
| a difficult part of the work was the
| testing OF the great chains by which the
| four principal electric lamps are suspended
| from the dome. This was done by means
| of ladders and scafolding, the electric cur
| rent being, of course. turned off This wear
| the Keeper Of Printed Books is able to
| make q remarkable boast, and one highly
| crcditable to the British reader After the
semi annual stOcktaking not a single book
was reported missing. was there a sin
| gle case discovered OF willful mutilation
| This is all the more remarkable, as in the
| National Library of France and She New
York Astor-L LenoX-Tiden Library where
| far greater restrictions .reyail. not year
| goes by that several books are not report
ed stolen. and scores OF cases of mutilation
| come to light
The electric light apparatus is next ex-
amined. the catalogues gone over, and the
| great clock in the reading room has its
| face washed and its works looked after
Meanwhile the windows are being wash
| ed and new cords added to the blinds
| The clerk Of the works complete- the
| housecloanilg by sending Il flying squa J.
| ron of sweepers armed with bTooms to
| sweep out OF doors all remaining eyidenc-
| es of dust or disarray. This accomplish
| ed. the sign Library Closed is removed
| for another six months, and the readers
| are welcome to return. The great British
storehouse of learning has had its half
| yearly cleaning.