This facility contains 4.5 million items. Twice per day, requested items are sent to and from the Klementinum (the National Library downtown).
Great care is taken to preserve all the books; the temperature is kept between 17 and 19 degrees Centigrade, and humidity at 45 to 47%.
Molds are cultured and analyzed in order to remove them from infected books. There was a big flood in 2002 which damaged more than 800,000 books and caused a big mold problem.
They use this unique machine to dry out the books, and often perform this task for other libraries and businesses that have wet, damaged items. It takes up to two weeks to dry a book, and involves a lot of manual intervention.
A large machine cuts out perfectly-sized boxes to store irreparable books. For my scrapbooking friends, this machine is like a giant Cricut!
They also have a conservation lab where damaged books and manuscripts are repaired. Here, one of the conservationists demonstrates leaf casting, a process that fills in holes or other damage with new pulp that is mixed to match the original document.
After the pages dry she will cut them and sew them back intol their book, re-creating the binding with the original parchment cover.
I want one of these big book blowdryers for Northside!
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