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In one year, Bobst Library circulates almost one million books, and in one day, the library receives more than 6,500 visitors.
This high traffic has a price. As a result of the wear and tear many of the books undergo, 6,000 texts are sent away for repairs each year.
Kimberly Sweetman is the head of access services at Bobst. She said when books are deemed damaged beyond use and are pulled from circulation, they are routed to the library's Babara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department, where the damage is assessed. The books are then sent to an appropriate location to be repaired.
Though some books are damaged as a result of intentional vandalism, this makes up only a marginal percentage of the books repaired.
"Generally, [the damage] is due to normal wear and tear from years of shared use," Paula DeStefano, the head of the library's preservation department, said.
DeStefano also attributed some of the damage to the poor handling among those who borrow the books. For example, pressing down too hard on the spine of a book when photocopying can break the spine if the book is tightly bound.
The majority of books sent to the preservation department have structural issues, including detached bindings or loose pages. Covers of publisher-bound books generally become detached after 20 to 25 circulations.
According to DeStefano, books published after 1945 are sent to a commercial library binder, where they receive a long-lasting binding. Books published before 1945 tend to be more delicate and are treated in the library's conservation lab by professionals. If necessary, a replacement copy is purchased.
A few of the books are routed to the preservation department because their pages become brittle. These volumes often need to be replaced.
"Over time, acid in book paper chemically degrades the paper fibers and the paper becomes extremely fragile and breaks as pages are turned," DeStefano said. She said this usually occurs with works published between 1850 and 1990, before publishers began using acid-free paper.
The library spends a considerable amount of money on replacing mishandled or decaying books. Each volume sent to a commercial library book binder costs about $10, and those repaired by library professionals cost approximately $60. Books with brittle pages are transferred to acid-free paper, which can cost upwards of $80.
Gary Speziale, a circulation assistant at Bobst, said the number of complaints about markings in books has increased.
"Once a student sees that a page or two is written on, they think, 'What's one more page going to do?' " Speziale said.
Last year, the policy regarding intentional damage to books meant that students who wrote in books were often fined. This policy was mainly a result of the efforts of Kate Contakos, a former NYU preservation librarian. But Contakos' moved to Yale University's library, and with her moved some strictness. Today, students are much less likely to be penalized for writing in books.
Tisch junior Daniel Zabludovsky, said he writes in library books "all the time." But to Speziale, the markings are no small issue, and he believes students should be considerate when borrowing books.
"It's part of your responsibility to the future classes," he said. "It's your responsibility as a good student and good citizen."
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