Have you ever taken a book to Asia for months or longer? What about the humidity?

How do you combat the humidity so that your valuable books don't get destroyed by the humidity in places like SE Asia? What if you double bagged each book in a ziplock bag with silica gel packet in each bag? Running the air conditioner 24/7 is not a realistic option although the air conditioner would be running from time to time. The books would need more conservative planning but what exactly?

In the 60s in India our books regularly got moldy and stuck together during the monsoon. Afterwards we dried them out in the sun and most of them became readable again.

>1 RickFlair:

the humidity in places like Asia

Oh, for pete's sake. What kind of a remark is that? Asia has a great variety of climates, some humid, some dry. Kind of like the United States.

The Pacific Northwest, and Eastern Coast, and South in the United States tend to damage books with seasonally high humidity when people aren't careful. I guess what you're asking is what to do when you can't keep a book in air conditioning.

One thing I had to do in Florida even with A/C was set out DampRid. That worked because I lived in apartments with small rooms and had to keep windows closed. A larger, airier space might require a boxed up library with a dehumidifing product. I would use a bin or cabinet (purchased or borrowed on location), because that seems easier than dealing with a bunch of bags for each book.

Here in Vienna I use an electric dehumidifier in the basement library in summer. It takes out a few liters of water a day when the humidity in there is high (over 60% is high for us). Dehumidifying chemicals cannot be expected to do that.

>3 lilithcat: I am talking specifically about SE Asia which is very humid.

>6 RickFlair:

That's not what your post said originally. I see you've edited it.

>7 lilithcat: Yes, that is correct.

Based on living in the US Southeast, if you have a lot of books in a humid climate the most important thing, after a dehumidifier if you can run one, and making sure they don't get actually wet in rain/flood/etc, is keeping the air circulating around the books. Arrange your shelves and furniture for airflow, space things out, and have electric fans running as much as you can.

If there is damage it's likely to be mostly to covers and edges. Mylar book jacket covers can help if they are the kind of books that have jackets.

If you're only planning to be there temporarily, though, I would probably leave them in climate-controlled storage until you've come to a longer-term home. I've seen too many boxes of books lost in transit to want to cross an ocean or continent with any I don't definitely need along with me.

Also, contact people in the place you're moving to and ask if there are any precautions they take with their books or paper items.

>5 MarthaJeanne: Sixty percentage humidity isn't especially high in my experience. I'm guessing your basement is not a small room.

Really, the space (and the type of books) makes a difference.

Perhaps I will just store my books with a family member here in the USA in an air conditioned home. If I do that, would you recommend placing all my books in large plastic tubs and closing the lid? Or should lids be left off to allow for some air flow? The books would be stored for at least one year without being moved or touched so I want to make sure I do this right. Some of my books are old and valuable...

The problem with plastic is that any humidity that gets in will stay in, possibly condensing on the sides of the boxes. And if there is high humidity it will get in. What I learned for textiles is to use cloth bags, not plastic.

>12 MarthaJeanne: Ok I can see that. But if I decide to just store them here in the USA inside an air conditioned home do you think the plastic tubs would be ok? I guess the cloth would still be more ideal...

>13 RickFlair: I'd use cardboard boxes, not plastic tubs. Tape the tops shut.

I live in Singapore where the humidity is 110% (it feels like it). My books are MMPBs and probably of no value to anyone other than me. I keep them in bookshelves with doors on the front and have installed electrical dehumidifiers (essentially like tube lights but they produce a low level of heat rather than light) inside the cupboards to keep them dry.

So far (touch wood) it’s working though it does make the room a bit hotter.