know what i can do to treat my britannica encyclopedia set? certain volumes got destroyed by water filling?

Question

in my basement 2 yrs ago..these papers appear stuck together and have a moldy appearance, they cost a lot of money and were leather bound on that acid proof paper...my set is over 15 yrs- the warranty to replace britannica has expired...any suggestions? or shall i try to sell it to some big book collector? if so...where? please not ebay, had a bad experience with them! only serious answers please!

Answer 1

It sounds to me like it is time to face the future. Britannica is online now, so having a printed set is a bit of an anachronism. And I don't think you can either repair yours or find anyone who would want to buy it in its current condition. Why not donate it to a thrift store and take a tax deduction, then buy britannica on CD/DVD or online (if you really need it -- the fact is that you can find online for free anything that you could pay to find in britannica).

Answer 2

Have you removed your books from the basement since the damage has occurred? You really have to act fast when books get damage by water. If you've done nothing with them in the last two years, then I fear that the damage is permanent and there's nothing that you can do.

With the number of books that have probably been damaged, it would be wise to get the books out of the area and into a controlled environment where they can be treated. I don't know if doing this would help you out now or not.

Look in your Yellow Pages for conservators and preservators and contact them to see if they have any advice.

Visit your local library and see if they have, or can borrow from another library, a copy of the 1986 21-minute video "Library & archival disaster preparedness & recovery" from BiblioPrep. It may also provide some advice for you. Although a lot of the information in the video is about preparing for a disaster, it does focus on what to do after a disaster has occurred. Again though, it persumes you're dealing with the disaster almost immediately.

I'm no expert on selling books, but I would have thought it's useless to sell these damaged books to a collector. These books could have mould and fungus and be damaging to your, and others, health. You're also not going to get the money that you're paid for the set initially, because of the amount of time and effort that needs to go into restoring the set.

I'm sorry that this answer isn't positive, but I feel that it's better to tell you that a good prognosis isn't likely than to get your hopes up.

I highly recommend you try and watch that video. I watched it as part of my library course, and I found it extremely helpful.

Answer 3

Don't look for big dollar signs here. With so many on-line encyclopedias out there, few people will be willing to invest in what is now an incomplete set, no matter how ornate. The warranty expired for a reason. Even further back, when every family HAD to have a family encyclopedia, if you didn't purchase the yearbooks to keep the set current, it would be out of date in 5 years, and obsolete in 10. Talk to Powell's Bookstore in Portland or Chicago, and ask for their opinion--then take their advice. Doom for books is spelled M-O-L-D. Even costly and collectible books have to pitched if the mold has taken over. Brits are probably on stick paper. Any large amount of moisture will dissolve the slick coating, and PERMANENTLY stick the pages together. Sorry, but it's time to say goodbye. Talk to Powells--see what they say. B.

Answer 4

I agree with the first answer about donating it and taking a tax deduction. Once the volumes are moldy, those are a total loss. The ones that aren't moldy, are usable, but probably can't be sold with the set being incomplete.
Figure that you got your money's worth from in over the 15 years. Now it's time to let it go and not agonize over it.

Answer 5

If you want to sell online, try half.com but keep in mind that the books will most likely sell for VERY cheap and shipping will be a pain and expensive.