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Question re: lining wooden shelves for rare books and archives



Much of the rare book and manuscript collection that I work with one day a week at our health sciences library is housed in a lovely room with wooden bookcases, which is a replica of the original medical school library from the 1800s.  Everything in that room was chosen 30 years ago for how it looked.  

My concern is that we have these rare materials sitting on shelves that may be off-gassing and/or causing other problems.  I have suggested, and it has been approved, that I order acid-free mat or barrier board and have it cut to fit and line all of the shelves, so that the books and other materials will not be sitting directly on the finished wood.  My estimates of cost run from $1500 to $2000 for the board, so before I proceed, I would like to hear others' opinions.  

Have any of the rest of you faced this situation?  Is this a reasonable solution?  Have you tried anything else that might have worked better?  Any other ideas?  I need to make a decision by the end of this week.

Kathie Johnson

Katherine Burger Johnson, Associate Archivist
University Archives and Records Center
400 Ekstrom Library
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
Phone-502.852.6674    FAX-502.852.6673
kbjohnson@louisville.edu

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