Drying frozen books

In response to Micki Ryan's request for information about freeze
drying books, I was wondering if the home freezer is frost free or
one that has to be defrosted.  Frost free freezers draw moisture out
of the freezing compartment and out of the items stored there.  Have
you queried meat lockers, or some place that has an efficient
commercial food freezer? The emphasis here is on *food freezer*, as
they are usually easier to come by than the freeze dryers. Freeze
dryers are nice because they are really fast, and food freezers will
work as well, they just take longer.

As to the length of time it takes to dry out the materials; it
depends on how efficient the freezer is, if it is a freeze dryer or
freezer, how cold it is and how much air circulation the freezer
provides, and how wet the material was to begin with. In an
experimental situation, we soaked books, put them into a grocery
store freezer, the upright kind with glass doors, and waited for
several months (I'm not positive, but 4 or 5 months) before the
books were dry.  The books will eventually dry out in a regular home
freezer which is not frost free, it just will take a long time.  I
believe that people have written about this topic.  Perhaps one of
my colleagues will be forthcoming with literature citations.

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:34
                 Distributed: Friday, October 10, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-34-001
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