Beetles (more specifically Anobium punctatum) love books, but can be picky eaters (they don’t like the ink).
Members of this species were recently found in the Judaica section among the collections in Israel’s National Library in Jerusalem, but luckily did not find the letters of Albert Einstein (donated to the National Library by the great scientist) to their taste.
More here: from CNEWS .
Lesson to be Learned
This story brought to mind a constant disagreement with aptrons over bringing food into the library. Many people don’t understand that the banning of food has a very specific preservation reason. The patrons think that we are afraid that the books will get soiled. They don’t realize that food brings insects and infestations. With all the paper in a library food bits can attract insects and rodents. With such a large supply of paper, ridding the library of these pests becomes very difficult.
As far as the library mentioned in the article the preservation people should have detected the problem before the infestation. Insects are a particluar problem in areas that are dry for a considerable amount of time. The other danger in shipping books from one country to the next is the unwanted passengers. Isn’t it strange that there are strict agricultural rules regarding bringing produce and plants yet they do not check or screen any other merchandise or packaging for pests. Anyone remember the movie Arachnophobia.
Re:Lesson to be Learned
No point fighting with aptrons, you’ll never win.