How to Handle Rare Books Properly — Best Practices for Preservation

The single greatest threat to rare books is not fire, flood, or insects — it is improper handling by the people who love them. Every time a book is opened, read, examined, or moved, it is subject to mechanical stress that, over time, causes damage. The good news is that proper handling techniques are simple to learn and dramatically reduce the risk of harm.

Before You Handle

Clean Hands

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and dry them completely before handling rare books. Your hands carry oils, salts, and moisture that transfer to paper and bindings on contact, causing staining, foxing, and deterioration over time.

The Gloves Question

The question of whether to wear gloves when handling rare books is often debated:

Arguments for gloves:

• Prevent transfer of skin oils and salts to paper and bindings
• Protect against fingerprints on coated or glossy paper
• Required by some institutions as policy

Arguments against cotton gloves:

• Reduce tactile sensitivity, increasing the risk of tearing fragile pages
• Can catch on loose or fragile elements (binding fragments, loose plates, tipped-in items)
• May accumulate dirt on their surface and transfer it to the book

Current best practice: Most rare book professionals and major institutions (including the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the Folger Shakespeare Library) now recommend clean, dry bare hands for handling most rare books. Exceptions include:

• Photographs (where fingerprints can permanently damage the emulsion)
• Gilded surfaces
• Materials with special sensitivity to skin contact

When gloves are required, nitrile gloves provide better tactile sensitivity than cotton.

Prepare the Workspace

• Clear the work surface of food, drinks, pens, and other hazards
• Use a book cradle, foam wedges, or book snake (a weighted fabric tube) to support the book at a comfortable opening angle
• Ensure adequate lighting — but not direct sunlight, which causes fading and paper degradation
• Remove rings, bracelets, and watches that could scratch bindings or catch on pages

Opening and Supporting

The 120-Degree Rule

Never force a book to open flat (180 degrees). Most books — especially older bindings — should be opened to no more than 120 degrees (about the angle of an open laptop). Forcing a book open wider stresses the spine, cracks the binding, and can cause pages to detach.

Using a Book Cradle

A book cradle holds the book at an appropriate angle with both covers supported. For books that resist opening:

1. Place the book spine-down in the cradle
2. Open the front cover gently and let it rest against the cradle’s support
3. Open the rear cover similarly
4. Gently open to the desired page, letting the text block find its natural opening angle
5. Use a book snake or gentle weight to keep the pages open — never press down on the spine

Books That Resist Opening

If a book does not open easily to the desired page, do not force it. The binding may be tight (either by design or because the spine has stiffened with age), and forcing it will crack the binding adhesive, break the sewing, or detach the covers.

Turning Pages

The Right Way

• Turn pages from the upper outer corner, using the pad of your finger (not your nail)
• Lift the page gently and guide it over — do not push, slide, or drag pages across each other
• For fragile or brittle pages, use a microspatula or thin, smooth tool to gently lift the corner before using your fingers

Common Mistakes

• Licking your finger to turn pages — introduces moisture, bacteria, and enzymes that damage paper. Never do this.
• Snapping pages — turning pages with a quick flicking motion stresses the paper at the gutter and can cause tears
• Pushing the page from the bottom — crumples the lower corner
• Using the spine as a fulcrum — resting the book on its spine and flipping pages damages the binding

Examining Condition

Systematic Approach

When examining a rare book for condition (as a collector, dealer, or prospective buyer):

1. Exterior first — examine the binding, spine, boards, and edges before opening
2. Open gently — check the hinges (where covers meet the text block), endpapers, and pastedowns
3. Title page and preliminaries — check for completeness, ownership marks, stamps, and repairs
4. Illustrations and plates — verify all plates are present; note any foxing, staining, or offsetting
5. Collation — for valuable books, verify the complete collation against bibliographic references
6. Text — spot-check for annotations, damage, or missing leaves
7. End matter — check the final leaves, which are often damaged or missing

Photography

When photographing a rare book:

• Use indirect, diffused lighting — never flash, which can cause cumulative light damage
• Support the book properly during photography — do not prop it open with other books or objects
• Photograph the binding, spine, title page, key pages, and any defects

Removing and Replacing on Shelves

Pulling a Book from a Shelf

Never pull a book from the shelf by the top of the spine (the headcap). This is the most common cause of spine damage in libraries and private collections.

The correct method:

1. Push the books on either side of the desired book slightly back
2. Grip the desired book by the middle of the spine or by both sides of the boards
3. Pull it straight out

Shelving

• Shelve books upright — not at an angle, which causes the text block to sag and pull away from the binding
• Support books with bookends to prevent leaning
• Do not pack books too tightly (causes abrasion when pulling books out) or too loosely (causes books to lean and warp)
• Oversize books (folios and large quartos) should be shelved flat, not upright, to prevent the text block from pulling away from the binding under its own weight

Transporting Rare Books

Short Distances

Carry books with both hands, one hand on each side. Never carry a book by its spine or by one cover.

Packing for Shipping

• Wrap the book in acid-free tissue paper
• Place it in a custom-fitted box or between layers of bubble wrap with rigid board supports
• The book should not shift inside the box — pack tightly with void fill
• Use double-boxing for valuable items (inner box surrounded by packing material inside a larger outer box)
• Insure the shipment for its full value
• Never use newspaper (acidic), rubber bands (cause staining), or tape applied directly to the book

What Not to Do

• Do not use sticky notes, paper clips, or rubber bands on rare books — all cause damage
• Do not photocopy rare books on a flatbed copier — the intense light and pressure damage bindings and paper
• Do not eat or drink near rare books — spills are irreversible
• Do not store books in attics, basements, or garages — temperature and humidity extremes cause rapid deterioration
• Do not attempt repairs — amateur repairs (tape, glue, trimming) are almost always irreversible and reduce value. Consult a professional conservator.

Proper handling is the simplest and most effective form of preservation. The techniques are not difficult — they require only awareness, care, and respect for the physical objects that carry our cultural heritage. Every book that survives another century does so because someone handled it properly.