6. Leave the book in place until its pages no longer feel cool to the touch. If the pages feel cool, it means they are still damp and need more time in the desiccation chamber.
This chamber creates an environment where moisture evaporates out of the book and is absorbed by the cat litter. If you start to notice condensation inside the tub, change out the cat litter or add more. We have only used clay-type litter, so it is not clear whether other cat litter types such as compressed paper, corn, or wood shavings would work as well.
Kitty litter is your friend.
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.