Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • February 8, 2016 5:53 PM

I buy hardbacks out of habit.

Back when I first had sufficient disposable income to buy books there was a very marked difference in quality of hard backs over paper backs. It was not just in the quality of binding, but in the paper stock and print quality. So that is where my prefrence for hard backs came from the higher quality of the product.

Some several decades on I look in my dead tree cave at books from back then. Whilst the hard backs are still usable as books, the paper backs are most definatly not. The paper in the paperbacks has decaded, and gone brown and very brittle almost like Autumn leaves, the glue in the binding has become at best gritty dust and pages just fall out. The paper backs cannot be repaired or easily preserved, whilst some of my early hard backs have been repaired and rebound –by me– and whilst not in daily use still get regularly used as refrence material.

If you want either type of book to survive, the first lesson is “clean hands” or cotton cloves, and don’t ever lick your fingers… it’s just plain nasty when you think about it. Second lesson is never ever lay an open book flat, irrespective of if it is hardback or paperback, nor carry it open. Don’t under any circumstances write in them, underline sentances or paragraphes, use postit notes or sellotape to add marks, or worst of all fold pages. As for those who write in books with ink pens or fold corners over to mark their place, they should never be alowed near a book ever again.

When you take a book with you “be nice” put it in a clean cotton cloth bag to protect it from other items in your “carry bag” such as shopping or hard items like keys, phones, netbook/pad computers and other dirt and detritus of everyday life. Further don’t alow books to get to warm or cold to damp or dry and most definatly keep them out of sunlight. And try not to let them get contaminated by tobacco smoke, spice food vapour or crumbs/grease or spilled tea/coffee etc etc. Either store them flat in small piles or standing upright on their ends supported in a book case. Never ever allow them to lean over at an angle even for a very short time as this will damage not just the covers but the spine as well. If they have floppy disks or optical media these are best removed and kept seperatly, because both they and books emit vapours that are harmfull to each other. Likewise do not cover books in “stickyback plastic”, like sellotape it’s dreadfull stuff and does real harm to a books longevity. Likewise don’t use those PVC clear plastic lose covers… And never ever put paper in as a mark that has been through a laser or injet printer or photocopier as time and preasure transfers the “ink” to the pages in the book.

If you do these simple things, then there is a good chance your books will outlive both you and your children, and possibly pay for your great grandchildren to be educated to a standard you would find acceptable.

As for hardback “dust covers” look after them carefully judging by current old book prices they can be worth three quarters of the selling price on rare books if they are in good order…