Although the city library moved into the new art center in March, the ancient books in it still remain in the old place. Because I am worried that it will bring moths to the new museum. Soon, after nearly 400,000 yuan of insecticidal equipment is put in place, these ancient books will be completely "clean", return to the arms of the organization and move into a new home.
The city library has 50,000 online books, including nearly 2,000 rare books. Most of these ancient books have a history of hundreds of years, and the oldest ones are more than 600 years old, all of which belong to cultural relics.
Because of the harsh environment of the old library, it is only suitable for office work, not for book collection. There is no way to keep the temperature and humidity constant. On rainy days, some rooms still leak rain. Termites breed in the wooden structure of houses, and moths inevitably appear in ancient books.
Insecticidal mode 1
The scent of vanilla can last for 20 years.
"The biggest natural enemy of books is moths," said Chen of the city library. In the early days, the most traditional pest control measure taken by municipal maps was to place camphor. However, the smell of camphor is very strong and quite exciting, and the staff are often choked to tears. Since 1996, the market has bought a batch of dried vanilla from Guangxi. This kind of grass tastes strong, but it is not irritating. Mixed with book fragrance, it tastes mild, environmentally friendly and non-toxic, but it can effectively prevent insects. "This kind of grass is born without fragrance, and it becomes more and more fragrant after drying, and the fragrance can last for 20 years. After a few years, it was not fragrant. After taking it out for half an hour, the fragrance recovered immediately. "
Every once in a while, there are dead bugs with crustaceans around each bag of vanilla medicine. But eggs and large moths can't be killed.
Insecticidal method 2
Cover with "golden bell jar" and spray dichlorvos.
In order to kill moths, the city library has taken many measures, including chemical pest control. Turn over ancient books and shake eggs, insect excrement and adults into barrels and pots. Close the window, mix dichlorvos and water, put them in small cups and put them in bookcases. Then spray dichlorvos in the corner, dry with a sprayer, seal the door with tape and fumigate for a week.
"DDVP is very toxic, and the staff should wear masks and gloves when operating. However, although this method can kill many moths, many moths drilled in books are stubborn and can't die. " Chen said to:
200 1, the city map uses another method, using aluminum phosphide to kill insects. This is a very toxic chemical, and the library staff can't do it themselves. It needs to be operated by professionals in the epidemic prevention department. Experts go to the library to see, no, it can't kill insects here. This room is too airtight. If it floats out and pollutes the air, something will happen. So, after the books were packed, they were taken to a special big warehouse and made a plastic "golden bell jar" to cover the books inside. Experts put on gas masks to kill insects. After killing, these books were kept in the warehouse for several days.
Insecticidal dilemma
At present, there is no most effective method.
"Although chemicals have completely killed insects, some experts in China are worried that chemicals will damage ancient books and damage paper and handwriting." Fu Hong, deputy director of the library, said that some ancient libraries in China are still preserving ancient books in the most traditional way. For example, Tianyi Pavilion uses vanilla. When the weather is fine, it will take out the book, shake it, turn it over and bask in the sun.
However, this method has high requirements for the surrounding environment. There is a big yard around Tianyige where books can be printed, and there are enough people. There is nothing Xiamen can do. If you sunbathe on the roadside, the dust and cement are very polluted, and ancient books are cultural relics, so it is not safe to sunbathe casually.
How to kill moths is a headache for libraries all over the country. At present, the most effective and safest pest control method has not been found in China.
Modern weapons
Let moths die of dehydration.
At present, the city library has purchased a set of self-control insect-killing and mildew-proof machine, the price is nearly 400 thousand yuan, and it will be in place soon. This set of equipment has never been used in Xiamen before, and it is very environmentally friendly. It uses physical means to make moths die without water, and will not cause damage to books.
"In March, the city map moved into the new building of the Art Center, but 50,000 ancient books remained in the old building, for fear that it would bring moths to the new building. After the equipment is in place, these ancient books will be completely insecticidal and then moved into the new museum. " Fu Hong said that a closed stack room with constant temperature and humidity was specially planned in the new library. In order to prevent books from becoming yellow and brittle due to ultraviolet radiation, special electric lights are used in the stacks. Ancient books that have been thoroughly "cleaned" will be repaired in batches and stored in tailor-made stacks.