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> Wearing blue latex gloves, [the FBI agent] displayed the Bible, carefully opening its weathered pages. Don't archivists dealing with old books use their bare

• contingencies 8y ago
  Hands contain oils, mold spores, bacteria, etc. and are certainly not good for fibrous media. Strategies depend upon what kind of media you have. Disposable cotton gloves are very popular. If you are interested in further research, the Getty is one of the world authorities on antiquities handling, they probably have a page or guide about it someplace. (Source: I have an art collection on antique paper myself, and have made efforts in the past to optimize handling and storage.)
  • matwood 8y ago
    For books, clean, dry, bare hands is recommended by the Library of Congress, the British Library, and Library of Canada. They explicitly recommend against using gloves. https://thediscoverblog.com/2019/04/05/the-gloves-come-off/ https://thediscoverblog.com/2019/04/05/the-gloves-come-off/
    • contingencies 8y ago
      Interesting summary, though the argument is limited to old worn books that are still physically sturdy and they explicitly disclaim the recommendation for art and photographs.
• gpm 8y ago
  I second this. I've handled 1000 year old books and was required to not wear gloves. I was told it was about increased dexterity being worth the oils deposited on the page (and to avoid the parts of the page with content).