The Role of Human Handling in the Deterioration of Library Materials

Most discussions about why library materials decay focus on heat, humidity, light, pests, and acidic paper. These are real threats, but they are not the only ones. A large share of the wear and tear on books, manuscripts, periodicals, and newspapers comes from the people who manage and use them every day. The way a book is pulled off a shelf, photocopied, carried in a bag, or marked with a pen can shorten its life far more quickly than slow chemical ageing. The encouraging part is that human-caused deterioration is the most preventable category of all. Unlike the weather, careless handling can be corrected through training, awareness, and simple habits.

Why human handling matters so much 🔗

Books are functional objects with moving parts. Every time a cover is opened, a page is turned, or a spine is flexed, a small amount of stress is placed on the binding and paper. Individually these actions are harmless. Repeated thousands of times by staff and users who do not handle materials correctly, they add up to cracked spines, loose pages, torn corners, and broken hinges. Conservation specialists note that careful handling is one of the most effective and low-cost preservation measures available, because it prevents damage instead of paying to repair it later, as the Library of Congress collections care guidance points out.

The problem often begins with attitude rather than knowledge. When books are treated as disposable rather than as physical objects worth protecting, even well-meaning people cause damage without realising it. Folding page edges to mark a place, marking text with a ballpoint pen, mutilating pages to copy an image, and outright vandalism are all common forms of human damage documented in preservation literature, including this review of library preservation practices. Because the people who create, maintain, and use collections are also responsible for much of their decay, addressing human handling has to be a central part of any preservation plan.

The library staff’s role in preservation 🔗

Staff handle materials more often than anyone else, and they do so at every stage of a document’s life inside the library. This makes their training the single most important factor in reducing handling damage. A book passes through many hands before and after it reaches a reader, and each stage carries its own risks.

Acquisition and processing 🔗

Damage can start the moment an item enters the collection. New books are sometimes shrink-wrapped, and cutting through the plastic with a blade can slice the cover if done carelessly. Processing tasks such as stamping ownership marks, attaching labels and barcodes, and inserting security strips all involve pressure and adhesives. Staff should be trained to use acid-free labels and reversible adhesives, and to avoid placing stamps or strips over text or illustrations. Heavy-handed processing leaves permanent marks that no later repair can undo.

Shelving and retrieval 🔗

The most frequent handling damage happens at the shelf. Pulling a book out by the top of its spine, known as the headcap, tears the binding at its weakest point. The correct method is to push in the neighbouring books on both sides, grip the target book around the middle of the spine, and ease it out. Books should stand upright and be supported with bookends so they do not lean, slump, or fall, and shelves should not be crammed so tightly that removing one volume damages others. The Library of Congress recommends gripping a book at the middle of the spine rather than tugging the top, and avoiding forcing books into overpacked shelves.

Transit and transport 🔗

Materials are constantly moved between shelves, reading rooms, circulation desks, photocopiers, and sometimes between branches. Book trucks should be loaded so that volumes stand upright and cannot slide or tip, and oversized items should lie flat rather than be wedged in vertically. Staff carrying materials by hand should avoid overloading their arms, since dropped books suffer broken spines and bent corners. When items are sent off-site for binding or digitisation, they need proper packing to survive the journey.

Photocopying and scanning 🔗

Pressing a tightly bound book flat onto a copier glass to force the page open is one of the most destructive routine actions in any library. It cracks spines and breaks bindings, often beyond economical repair. Where possible, staff and users should use overhead or V-cradle scanners that capture pages without forcing the book flat, an approach recommended in handling guidance from university library preservation programmes. For fragile or valuable items, making a reference copy protects the original from repeated copying.

User education for preservation 🔗

Staff cannot watch every reader, so users must become partners in preservation. Most damage by users is unintentional and stems from not knowing the correct way to handle materials. Education is therefore far more effective than blame. An important message to communicate is that one careless individual can ruin an item and reduce access for everyone who comes after, a point stressed in guidance on engaging staff and users in preservation. Keeping a collection usable is a shared responsibility.

Education does not require a formal classroom. Clear, friendly signage at entrances, reading tables, and photocopiers reminds users of the basics at the moment they are about to handle a book. Posters, bookmarks, and postcards carrying a preservation message are inexpensive and easy to notice. Orientation sessions for new students, brief notes printed on borrowing slips, and short demonstrations during library tours all reinforce good habits. For rare and archival materials, staff should explain the special handling rules before items are issued, rather than assuming users already know them.

Children deserve particular attention, because habits formed early last a lifetime. School librarians can teach young readers to value books through activities like making book covers, posters, and bookmarks, which builds respect for materials while allowing creative expression. Investing in this awareness pays off across the years as those readers move into colleges and research libraries.

Practical handling guidelines: do’s and don’ts 🔗

The simplest way to translate preservation principles into daily practice is a short, memorable list of do’s and don’ts that applies to both staff and users. These guidelines are drawn from the published handling advice of major libraries and conservation bodies, including the American Museum of Natural History library and the University of Kansas Libraries.

Do 🔗

Handle materials with clean, dry hands, since oils, dirt, and food residue transfer to paper and attract pests. Support the book with both hands and prop open covers on a cradle or cushion rather than forcing pages flat. Use a flat surface such as a table; never read on your lap or place books on the floor. Mark your place with a flat paper bookmark, preferably acid-free. Protect borrowed items from rain, dampness, direct sun, heat, smoke, and pets while they are in your care. Report damage to a staff member instead of attempting a repair yourself, and keep any pieces that break off so they can be reattached professionally.

Don’t 🔗

Do not pull books by the headcap at the top of the spine. Do not open a book to a full 180 degrees or press it flat, as this cracks the spine. Do not dog-ear pages or fold corners to mark a place. Do not use a book as a writing surface, since this leaves indentations on the pages beneath. Avoid pens, highlighters, and underlining; take notes on a separate sheet instead. Never use adhesive notes, sticky tape, paper clips, or rubber bands, which leave residue, rust marks, or tears. Keep food and drink away from materials, because spills and crumbs cause stains and invite insects. These rules echo the care advice issued by institutions such as the USC Libraries special collections, which ask users to consult staff before handling fragile or unusual bindings.

Integrating preservation into library culture 🔗

A poster on the wall or a one-time workshop is not enough. Preservation-minded handling becomes reliable only when it is built into the everyday operation of the library and treated as a continuing responsibility rather than an occasional campaign. This means written handling policies, induction training for every new staff member, and periodic refresher sessions that keep good practice current. When careful handling is the expected norm, new colleagues and users absorb it naturally.

National-level support strengthens this culture. In the Indian context, the National Mission for Manuscripts, now part of the Gyan Bharatam Mission under the Ministry of Culture, runs capacity-building programmes that train staff, scholars, and archivists in conservation, manuscriptology, and preventive care. Through its network of Manuscript Conservation Centres across the country, it spreads standard handling and conservation practices to institutions that may lack in-house expertise. A persistent challenge it identifies is the shortage of staff trained in delicate handling, which is precisely why ongoing training matters so much.

Embedding preservation into culture also means giving someone clear responsibility for it, keeping handling supplies like acid-free bookmarks and book supports available, and reviewing recurring damage to find its source. When a particular title keeps returning with broken spines, the answer may be a handling problem at the photocopier rather than a binding defect. Libraries that treat handling as a shared, ongoing duty extend the life of their collections at almost no cost, ensuring that the same volumes remain usable for the readers who follow.

What do you think? Looking back at how you handle books in your own college library, which of the don’ts above have you been guilty of without realising the harm? And if you were asked to design a preservation awareness campaign for first-year students, what single message would you put on the poster to change their habits the fastest?

References

1. https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/books.html
2. https://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Journal/jounalvol1/pdf/orhj-14.pdf
3. https://library.washu.edu/news/dos-and-donts-of-book-handling/
4. https://chinapreservationtutorial.library.cornell.edu/content/staff-and-users
5. https://www.amnh.org/research/research-library/conservation/proper-care-of-library-books
6. https://lib.ku.edu/policies/care-handling-library-materials
7. https://libraries.usc.edu/locations/special-collections/books-care-handling-guidelines
8. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2114400&reg=3&lang=2