Shalom! I saw this post about termites, so I emailed the woman who taught a webinar on pest management in museum spaces. Below is her response:
Dear Jackie, My first response in reading the query to the list is that the synagogue should investigate replacing their pest control company! I will state directly that I am not a pest control professional but having worked with museums and library collections on IPM issues I can confirm that throwing out an entire collection is not a reasonable response. There are two issues here: the treatment of an infested building and the treatment of the library collections. While the issues are clearly related, the responses are not the same. I will not offer solutions to how to deal with the infested building as that is a difficult problem best left to an experienced pest control company with a specialty in termite infestations. The books can be saved although it will take some effort and funding to do so properly. It is important to also recognize that the books can be treated but until the systemic building-wide infestation is dealt with, returning the books to the library will leave them vulnerable to reinfestation. There is no detail provided in the query as to whether there is a documented infestation in the books themselves or whether it was just assumed. The information on the www.museumpests.net site, while primarily aimed at museums is also relevant to library and archive collections and so some of the information there will be relevant in this case. Some relevant links are: - The site's solutions page with an introduction to the various types of treatments that are safe for library collections - http://museumpests.net/solutions/ - Our monitoring page http://museumpests.net/monitoring-introduction/ has a link to a tips sheet on selecting a pest management professional. This might help you find a company which is more experienced in dealing with this issue. - They are welcome to join the free PestList listserv and post a query there as well http://museumpests.net/join-the-pestlist/ The library collection can be boxed and then wrapped in polyethylene plastic wrap with all seams tightly taped down. This will protect the books if they are not infested and prevent spread if some of them are. Ideally they should be flipped through while boxing to determine if there are signs of grazing, frass (excrement) or other activity. With the books boxed it buys some time to consider treatment options. Freezing would be safe for book and paper collections as well as parchment (if that happens to also be in the library collection). Information on that process is available on the website and given the number of hurricanes and issues in Florida I would assume that there is a document recovery company somewhere that should be able to handle freezing of the boxes. Renting a freezer truck to run a treatment would also be an option if done before warmer weather sets in. Heat treatment of this material is also an option and it is a shorter treatment. Pest Control companies that deal with bed bug infestations are often equipped to provide this type of option. A low oxygen method using CO2 or Nitrogen would also be safe but takes longer and it may be harder to find a pest control company that provides this service. An entrenched infestation is difficult problem but harder at the building level. The books can be saved and I hope that the community will be able to find the hands to help with the boxing and moving and the funds to provide for a proper treatment but that certainly seems more manageable that rebuilding an entire collection. Rachael Perkins Arenstein A.M. Art Conservation, LLC Conservation Treatment, Preservation Consulting & Collection Management rach...@amartconservation.com www.AMArtConservation.com <http://www.amartconservation.com/> -- Jackie Ben-Efraim *"Although the books had changed, I the reader had not." **Micha Yosef Berdichevsky 1865-1921* Special Collections Librarian Ostrow Library American Jewish University 15600 Mulholland Drive Bel Air, CA 90077
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