We're frequently asked by our customers how to store and protect their hardcover books. Though most avid readers (myself included) don't really think of our books as an investment, a good hardcover SF and Fantasy library that covers the past ten or twenty years is worth a respectable amount of money (i.e. thousands if not tens of thousand of dollars) if sold to a specialty bookseller. This is even more true if you have been collecting works from various small presses or avidly collect horror fiction. However, the value of a book drops sharply when it is damaged. Even damage that seems perfectly acceptable to a reader will reduce the value by as much as twenty-five to fifty percent. So, I have written the following suggestions that, if followed, will help preserve the value of a collection without interfering with the enjoyment of reading one's books.
In general, there are five things that damage books -- damp, heat, sunlight, pests and abuse. Here's how to prevent a good portion of each type of damage along with a few do's and don'ts.
