Hello! I work for an open air living history museum. We had a number of leather books in our law office this season, which was closed for part of the year because of repairs to the front step. Otherwise, air would have been circulating on a regular basis through the space.

Our librarian went in to remove them for the season and found mold (white powdery) had grown on the leather, with a smidge of the powdery residue on the outer edges of the closed books. They had a slight clammy feel when she found them.

They are now dry, and we are looking for advice on how to clean them properly. We have the rubber dry sponges (from Gaylord), HEPA Nilfisk vacuum, various soft brushes...

What is the best way to remove as much of the spores from the surface to ensure they don't contaminate other books or reactivate if they get some humidity?

We don't have money to send them out for conservation, but we want to do want to care for them as best as possible.

Thanks very much for your advice!

Sincerely,
Sabrina Henneman
Collections Registrar
Genesee Country Museum
www.gcv.org

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