• Make sure your hands are clean when you use books. Oily fingerprints leave a stain and attract additional dirt.
• While avoiding eating, drinking, and smoking around books is always the best approach it may not always be possible. When eating, drinking and smoking around books, please be careful as you handle library books as well as your own books. Spills almost always leave a permanent stain.
• Use a slip of paper as a bookmark rather than a paper clip or sticky note. Paper clips leave rust stains, and sticky notes can leave a residue or pull the lettering off the page when they are removed.
• If a book will not open flat, avoid forcing it, especially when photocopying. This can ruin the materials that hold the book together, requiring expensive repairs.
• Shelve books upright. If a tall book will not fit upright on a shelf, shelve it with the spine down against the shelf. Shelving with the spine pointed up puts heavy stress on the weakest parts of the book.
• Keep books in heated or air-conditioned spaces. Uncontrolled temperatures and humidity may cause mold outbreaks. Once present, mold can seldom be completely removed.
• Keep books away from direct or strong light to prevent discoloration.