Even books are having trouble beating the heat.
Dozens of paperbacks at a Brooklyn bookstore curled in on themselves this week as Mother Nature huffed her hot and sticky breath across the Big Apple, images dramatically showed.
The metro area suffered from muggy and oppressive weather as high humidity and a heat index above 90 degrees lingered last week, leaving vulnerable victims in its wake.
At McNally Jackson’s City Point location, row after row of paperback books were splayed open, with some of the covers almost completely peeled back.
The phenomenon is not unusual, according to Rebecca Fifield, associate director of collection management for the New York Public Library.
“Books are what we call hygroscopic objects. That means that they are sensitive — they absorb and release moisture,” Fifield explained. “Yes, it’s hot out, but it’s also really humid.
“This is a thing that can affect the adhesives that are used to make books, the paper, it could cause them to get distorted.”
While book curling might be aesthetically unpleasant, mold growth and insect infestation would be a much more serious cause for concern.
Mold can nestle between the pages of a damp book easily and without detection, providing a welcoming environment for bugs like silverfish, who then feast on the decorative finishes and the cellulose in the book’s pages.
To prevent such an invasion, preservationists at the NYPL and other institutions keep a close eye on airflow, according to Fifield.
The library’s special collections, for example, are kept at a consistent 60 degrees and the moisture content is kept within a 35-55% range.
Cold rooms also slow overall decay, keeping classic and original works fresher for longer.
“We have less moisture in the environment, insects can’t flourish as much and mold growth doesn’t occur,” Fifield continued.
The good news is that any curled books will likely revert to their original states when the humidity levels drop, though some of the pages might have a few new wrinkles along the edges.
Whether McNally Jackson was suffering from any airflow issues this week is not clear. The book chain did not respond to requests for comment.
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