Thank you so much to everyone who sent information and advise on how to
clean and vacuum book stacks. I promised to summarize the responses
and here it is:
I received about a dozen responses. Several recommended the
- Nilfisk GM80 with a HEPA filter because of its variable speed
setting which is important for dealing with brittle or older
materials. Additional equipment that can be ordered with it includes a
museum object tool kit and a reostat to adjust air flow. The general
opinion seems to be that the Nilfisk is the Cadillac of vacuums, but
that the price is fairly high. It is great for cleaning books, but for
cleaning the shelves, a cloth seems to do a better job.
Other vacuums mentioned were:
- Heavy duty DataVac product #MCSMDV-2 that can be ordered from
Gaylord
- High-end Dirt Devil
- QPB73 Quiet Pro ProTeam. This is a quiet (60 dB), light weight
(10 lbs) backpack model which student cleaners seem to like. It does
not have a HEPA filter, but has a different four level filtration
system.
- Oreck XL model no. BB870-AD. This comes with a low suction level
and a HEPA filter and has been used successfully on manuscripts and
rare books.
- Princess vacuum with an extra long hose
- Royal vacuum
The prices of these others were considerably lower than the Nilfisk,
but price, of course, is only one among many considerations.
Some of the comments:
It's very important not to turn the vacuum on and off all the time as
that wears out the motor of the vacuum.
It's important to buy a vacuum with a long hose and a horsehair or
other soft brush. Order extra brush heads as they wear out. The
vacuum must also be easy to maneuver in the stack areas.
Many libraries vacuum in connection with shifting collections.
Most libraries use teams of two or three students working two hours a
day.
One person recommended using dust rags instead of vacuuming.
Good websites for cleaning information:
http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/preservation/iguide.html
http://www.lib.washington.edu/Preservation/clean.html
Again, thanks to everyone who responded; many with long, detailed notes
that I found very helpful.
Lene
Lene Palmer wrote:
Hello all:
George Mason University is instituting a stacks cleaning program which
involves vacuuming the books. If anybody with experience implementing
regular stacks cleaning would be willing to give me some advise with
do's and don'ts I would appreciate it very much. In particular I'm
looking for input as to what kind of vacuum to purchase. I want one
with a HEPA filter and an extra long hose, but beyond that, I don't
know if one brand is better than another and what model to acquire, and
I would be very grateful for any information you could give me. If you
respond directly to me at lenep@xxxxxxx , I can summarize for
the list
if there is interest.
Thanks.
Best regards,
Lene Palmer
Lene Palmer
Collection Development and Preservation Librarian
Fenwick Library 2FL
George Mason University
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: 703-993-2667
Email: lenep@xxxxxxx
|