How to destroy a book
What not to do to library books
Norman Howe
To whom it may concern:
You ruined my book. Well, not exactly my book: it belongs to the library. But I’m the one who borrowed it after you so, for the moment, it’s my book.
You probably don’t even realize what you did. You treat your own books the same way, and it doesn’t bother you at all. Your instructors may even have shown you how to take notes more efficiently, by underlining, bookmarking the pages, and writing reminders to yourself in the margins. I dislike this practice. When one of my instructors assigned a class exercise to mark books in the staff library, I asked to be excused on religious grounds. (It didn’t work.) That kind of notation is OK in your own books. Unfortunately, I have to use this book after you. My needs differ from yours. I do not appreciate the underlining and I certainly don’t like the way you scratched out some words. At least you used pencil; I was able to erase the worst parts without doing additional damage to the paper.
You should not have dog-eared the pages. Even a new book can’t take too many folds before the corners tear off. This is a very old book. The paper is brittle, and even one fold breaks the fibers. Special tape is needed to repair those corners. Why didn’t you use scraps of paper as bookmarks?
This isn’t the worst book I’ve seen, though. Some people write in ink or mark the pages with highlighters. They put Post-it flags in the books and leave them there. Now, Post-its won’t damage new paper, providing they aren’t left in too long, but they peel the surface right off older pages. They’ll do the same thing to a newer book if you leave them in for a couple of weeks. It’s glue! What I can’t understand are people who put large Post-it notes in a book and then write on the pages. Why not write on the Post-it? And here’s a hint: Post-it notes are an important innovation, as they incorporate temporary glue. Scotch tape is not an alternative.
Then there are people who don’t want to use a copier or scanner, so they cut pictures and pages out of library books and sometimes entire chapters or articles. I borrowed this book for that particular chapter. Cutting it out makes this item useless to me. Library books have a short enough life as it is without this kind of thing.
Some readers are just careless: they spill their coffee or read the books while their hands are sticky from eating. Everyone does this. I sometimes wish we could all follow the instructions pasted in children’s library books: “Please wash your hands before you read me and keep me clean.”
Some people let their pets play with the books. Animals don’t think books are good toys: they think they are competition for your attention. Put the book down and play with your dog.
Others drop them. They nod off, and the book falls. Stuff happens. Dropping a small book is generally not a problem, but a large volume can tear the spine loose from the covers when it hits the floor. Not to mention how much it hurts when it lands on your foot.
Others are malicious. They write in large letters across pages, black out portions of text with which they disagree, and make it impossible to use. These books must be withdrawn from circulation and replaced. The vandals who do this usually don’t take the books out of the library: they deface them on-site. And some books have more personal kinds of damage. (Hint: the best pages are all stuck together.)
Some people attempt to repair the damage. They Scotch-tape torn pages and use duct tape to put the spines back on. Please don’t try this at home! Household repair materials don’t have neutral pH levels and in time degrade the paper. I can’t read pages which are yellowed from old Scotch tape. And again: the duct tape makes the book all sticky! And it makes the book adhere to others on the same shelf!
Here’s something else: inappropriate bookmarks can harm a book! Paper clips leave rust marks, tear the pages when they are removed, and imprint the pages. Pens used as bookmarks leave stains. I’ve found candy wrappers inside books, and know someone who found a piece of bacon between some pages! (If the reader used bacon for a bookmark, then what did he eat?) Even some “official” bookmarks are harmful: coloured paper or paper that is not acid-free can mark the pages. I have a lovely metal bookmark that clips over the top of a page. It’s sharp as a razor and cuts into the book if it’s pressed down. I don’t use it.
So, please, don’t damage library books. They’re not your books. They’re my books.
Norman Howe has been reading and worshipping books for over 50 years.
