Old books get a new lease of life: a look inside the poetspaleis

In a corner of the storage depot beneath the library dusty books are given a new lease of life. The so-called poetspaleis started about a year and a half ago.

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That books collect dust is an inevitable natural process. This is especially true given the size of the University Library’s collection, which contains around two million volumes. Without intervention, the dust can seriously damage the books.

“The main reason for this is to ensure that these books remain available for future generations, not just for us”, said Liza Silvius, a staff member of the special collections team.

The cleaning process is fairly simple, but requires close attention to detail. First, the books that need cleaning are selected. They are then vacuumed with a small vacuum cleaner. Depending on the condition of the book, there may be additional steps to ensure its quality and cleanliness.

‘Very valuable’

Eduard Kamsteeg, one of the book restorers, says that despite the sometimes repetitive nature of the work, he finds it very valuable. “I love old books, because thanks to my cleaning work they will hopefully still be in good condition in a few hundred years. That is what I find so wonderful about this work”, he said.

Silvius explains that without the poetspaleis, the library would not have been able to accept a large donation of books from a deceased professor. The collection had been stored in a basement and was slightly damp. “We were unsure whether we could accept it, because if there are insects or mould in it, you don’t want that here. But now that we have the poetspaleis, it is possible!”, says Silvius.