The temperature measurement is accurate, so I guess the RH measurement is not very far off. Additionally, I've replaced the CFL light bulbs for LED and installed 100% light-blocking curtains on that room. This will also prevent the room from getting too hot during the day. I think I'm good with regards to atmospheric conditions

The issue I have is that everything is piled up on my old wood-plastic composite laminate bookcase. This will change soon.

I was looking at the following bookcases:

Ash veneer: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/pro ... ery=591.553.30#/S59155330

Powder-coated steel: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products ... s-Series-Bookcases-345-x/

http://www.sears.com/sandusky-lee-san ... 2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2#

Powder coated steel is not as fashionable as wood and doesn't match anything in my house, but it probably requires less maintenance as there's no need to worry for placing the acid-free paper between the wood and the books?

Morinehtar wrote:
The temperature measurement is accurate, so I guess the RH measurement is not very far off. Additionally, I've replaced the CFL light bulbs for LED and installed 100% light-blocking curtains on that room. This will also prevent the room from getting too hot during the day. I think I'm good with regards to atmospheric conditions

The issue I have is that everything is piled up on my old wood-plastic composite laminate bookcase. This will change soon.

I was looking at the following bookcases:

Ash veneer: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/pro ... ery=591.553.30#/S59155330

Powder-coated steel: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products ... s-Series-Bookcases-345-x/

http://www.sears.com/sandusky-lee-san ... 2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2#

Powder coated steel is not as fashionable as wood and doesn't match anything in my house, but it probably requires less maintenance as there's no need to worry for placing the acid-free paper between the wood and the books?

I think the problem with RH sensors is just that they are intrinsically less reliable than temperature sensors. I don't think you can infer that one sensor is accurate on a device because the other is. I would personally trust an uncalibrated sensor to within 5-10%, based on my own observations. Truthfully, you are simply going to know if your environment is dry enough or too damp, anyway. If it feels nice and dry, it is. If the air feels moist, you have a problem. We aren't talking about preserving the dead sea scrolls here! :)

http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/t ... ive-humidity-sensors.html

Interesting article about RH sensors. Mine is a simple COTS device so it is not calibrated, but I would think plus or minus 5% of the indicated value is still acceptable. The air feels ok, not moist but also not too dry. I think 40% RH sounds about right.

I bought the COTS device to have a reasonable estimate, but I have the AC running almost the whole day so the environment is stable and I don't think I will have a problem with humidity getting out of hand. I am actually more scared of silverfish during summertime; they damaged one of my favorite books a few years back, but I have since been able to keep them at bay by placing cinnamon sticks inside punctured plastic bags on the shelves.

I need to decide on a bookcase soon, I don't have shelf space for any more books.

I wanted to share this article about storage which I found very interesting: https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/p ... review-of-current-options

Maybe you know all that stuff, but it might help someone browsing through here in the future. Who knew there were so many risks? Seems whatever you do, you still should line bookshelves with barrier materials and there's no risk-free method. Between the potential rust to steel and the acid vapors released by wood, its a scary world for books. I don't want my collection to look like my parent's where foxing, brown-paged books with dark stains (mold?) to top of text-block with severely shelf-worn DJs are the norm.

Stu, you're right, we aren't talking about the Dead Sea scrolls; this is something *much* more important

- wellinghall

Well some Reddit user defined me as "quite a paranoid and fearful fellow" while discussing the topic

I really just want to build a safe setup that can be easily replicated so that I don't have to worry about it any more. But the more you read about conservation stuff, the more you learn there is no such thing.

Morinehtar wrote:
Well some Reddit user defined me as "quite a paranoid and fearful fellow" while discussing the topic

I really just want to build a safe setup that can be easily replicated so that I don't have to worry about it any more. But the more you read about conservation stuff, the more you learn there is no such thing.

It is called entropy. Everything over time goes from order to disorder, and all you can do is try to slow it down a bit. It IS frustrating, mind.

Has anyone ever experimented with UV film for windows? Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Protection-Window-Film-Wide/dp/B004JAW3KW/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1478386069&sr=8-18&keywords=uv+window+filter

The bookshelf in my living room gets a good deal of indirect sunlight. I keep the blinds closed at all times but the room still gets pretty bright at times. I'm sure this can't be as damaging as direct sunlight to book spines, but how harmful is indirect light? Can anyone offer any advice on this? Thank you!

Berelach wrote:
The bookshelf in my living room gets a good deal of indirect sunlight. I keep the blinds closed at all times but the room still gets pretty bright at times. I'm sure this can't be as damaging as direct sunlight to book spines, but how harmful is indirect light? Can anyone offer any advice on this? Thank you!

It is all harmful, relected light is just less so (aa there is less of it). UV window tints are probably pretty useful, plus if you have glass-fronted bookcases, you can also add film to those.

Thank you Stu, I appreciate the insight