I am a book collector, plus I want to talk a little bit about the importance of air quality to your books.
I think this blog post isn’t for most people – however it’s for someone! You think who you are.
The people who enjoy books, not just reading them, however owning them! People prefer us enjoy nothing more than a room filled floor to ceiling with seasoned books. The smell of them, to me, is intoxicating! The thing is, that without standard care plus upkeep that intoxicating smell turns into a nauseating 1! Old books cannot get damp at all, or they mildew, mold, plus rot, which brings me to the subject of indoor air conditions in your home; Your books will need a unusual kind of climate control than you need for your own personal comfort. The reason so many book collectors keep a separate room for their books is so they can adjust the climate control for that room separate from the rest of the house. What is comfortable for you plus I may cause long term injure to your books, so keep them in their own room, plus put a dehumidifier in there. Better yet, put many dehumidifiers in the book room, if not a portable A/C device with a dehumidifier built into it. Moisture is the enemy, so keep a dehumidifier running 24/7 in your book room. Of course you also want to keep the temperature levels secure, however the truth is that with low enough humidity the temps don’t make that big a difference to the books.