Books Gone Bad
Mold in Library Collections
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The following links are for sites that provide additional information about mold, health, and preservation and conservation of books. These links were accurate as of May, 2011, but note that web site addresses do sometimes change.

http://www.epa.gov/mold/
General information about mold from the Environmental Protection Agency. Includes additional links for mold remediation and prevention, specifically in buildings.

http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldcourse/resourcelibrary.html
This site has a list of links for further information, again with an emphasis on mold in buildings and in flood situations such as hurricanes.

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/
Centers for Disease Control web site including information about mold and health. This site also has links with advice on assessment, cleanup and prevention.

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/links.htm
A list of online resources provided by the Centers for Disease Control.

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/faqs.htm
A list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions provided by the Centers for Disease Control.

http://www.nasdonline.org/document/1663/d001538/farmer-039-s-lung-it-takes-your-breath.html
Information sheet from the National Ag Safety Database about Farmer’s Lung. Some of the physical effects described are very similar to “Librarian’s Lung.”

http://www.nasdonline.org/document/1862/d001796/farmer-039-s-lung-causes-and-symptoms-of.html
Another publication from the National Ag Safety Database: “Farmer’s Lung: Causes and Symptoms of Mold and Dust Induced Respiratory Illness.”

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/farmers_lung.html
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) information about Farmer’s Lung.

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/alveolitis.html
CCOHS information specifically about extrinsic allergic alveolitis, which is the more technical term for conditions such as Farmer’s Lung and Librarian’s Lung.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/298811-overview
This website provided by Medscape has information about hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which is another term for extrinsic allergic alveolitis.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000109.htm
Medline Plus is a service of the Unites States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.This link is for still more information about hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

http://www.isham.org/
International Society for Human and Animal Mycology, an organization for scientists interested
in fungal diseases.

http://www.doctorfungus.org/
This extensive web site contains information that is primarily intended for physicians; however, there is content intended for those with less technical training. There’s also an image bank. Keep in mind that this is a medical information site, so some of the images are great nightmare material. Surf with care!

http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/43325/E92645.pdf
World Health Organization publication focusing on indoor air quality and building mold. If typing the URL into your browser directly doesn’t work, try using the keywords “WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality Dampness Mold” in a search engine to bring up a link that will take you to this pdf document.

http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/78636/Damp_Mould_Brochure.pdf
Publication called “Damp and Mould: Health risks, prevention and remedial actions,” developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Health and Environment Alliance.

http://www.aiha.org/news-pubs/newsroom/Documents/Facts%20about%20mold.pdf
A publication by the American Industrial Health Association® (AIHA) about mold, primarily in buildings.

http://www.lyrasis.org/Search.aspx?HomepageSearchTerm=mold
LYRASIS is the United States’ largest regional non-profit membership organization serving libraries. From their home page (http://ww.lyrasis.org) enter the search term “mold” to bring up this page with links to helpful information about mold in library contexts.

http://www.maineindoorair.org/about.htm
Maine Indoor Air Quality Council provides links to resources about a variety of considerations related to indoor air quality, including a contact list for specific issues.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/molds/
Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Safety and Health Topics page about mold, particularly in work environments.

http://preserve.harvard.edu/guidelines/mold_contamination.pdf
“Guidelines for Managing Mold Contamination” from the Weissman Preservation Center at Harvard College. Includes information about identification, human health risks and management strategies.

http://www.nedcc.org/home.php
Northeast Document Conservation Center; contains information about preservation and conservation, including the following specific pages:

http://www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets/3Emergency_Management/08SalvageMoldyBooks.php
“Emergency Salvage of Moldy Books and Paper”

http://www.nedcc.org/curriculum/imagelibrary.php?m=Class5&s=s3&t=a
This page includes some links to images of extensive mold damage and a good illustration of the kind of respirator that should be used when working in a moldy environment.

http://www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets/3Emergency_Management/06SalvageWetBooks.php
“Emergency Salvage of Wet Books and Records”
 

Books Gone Bad - Mold in Library Collections was a project sponsored by Maine College of Art, in partnership with the Joanne Waxman Library. Funding for this project came from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. The Project Lead and Artist for this project was Diane J. Wren. All contents Copyright © 2011 by Diane J. Wren. All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Diane J. Wren.