ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES Newsletter of the Federal Depository Library Program --------------------------------------------------------------------- December 15, 1999 GP 3.16/3-2:20/18 (Vol. 20, no. 18) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Readers Exchange Miami Gives Bookworms the Big Chill By Daniel Blazek, Coordinator Dante B. Fascell Division of Government Information and Special Formats, Otto G. Richter Library University of Miami dblazek@miami.edu The University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library recently completed a two and a half year project to eradicate "cigarette" beetles from the library's government document collection. Undertaken between March 1997 and October 1999, the project successfully deloused approximately 4,600 volumes of bound government documents, including the Congressional Record and Foreign Relations of the United States. Background In the late 1980's, the Richter Library staff first found there were volumes infested with damaging insects known as cigarette beetles. In 1989, the library commissioned the services of an entomologist, Thomas Parker, who specialized in treating materials housed in museums and libraries.1 Parker determined the chief areas of infestation in Richter Library, one of which was in certain older government documents.2 In contrast to local exterminators who recommended closing the library and blasting the stacks with toxic pesticides to eradicate the pests, Parker recommended freezing infested materials, along with placing pheromone traps. This method was environmentally friendly as well as economically viable, for it permitted keeping the library open for the duration of the treatment. The Cigarette Beetle The adult cigarette beetle is round in shape and about 1/3 the size of a ladybug. It commonly feeds on tobacco, grain, spices and other dried leafy materials. Eggs of the beetle are often found in household spices. In libraries, the beetle feeds on the glue of book bindings, spines and the hinges of bound materials. Fortunately, it does not seem to find softbound or unbound materials to its liking. Beetle eggs are laid on the book shelf or on top of the book itself. Hatched larvae, referred to traditionally as the common "bookworm," chew a tunnel into the glued portions of the book cover and create piles of powdered excrement, called "frass." In three months they may eat a path two inches long and scar a volume with unsightly holes. The larva chews a round exit hole through the book spine, plugs the hole with fras and pupates into an adult beetle in the chamber behind this hole. After a period of time, the beetle chews its way out of the book by exiting through this hole. After emerging, the female beetle emits pheromones which attract the male. Both males and females are excellent fliers and are often successful in finding mates. The cycle repeats and one book may have multiple generations of beetle scarring. Although the cigarette beetle is small, infestations are fairly easy to identify. To check for cigarette beetles, examine underneath the book for little piles of fine dust (fras) on the book shelf. It is always the same color as the book being eaten. If you open the inside front or back cover, you may see small holes near the spine crease. Tap the spine of bound materials. If fras falls out, it probably indicates an active beetle infestation. As a chiefly tropical insect, the cigarette beetle is not conditioned for freezing temperatures, and soon dies if given a sufficient dose of cold weather. Placing infested materials in freezers for a few days would kill the beetle, as it cannot adjust so quickly to a sudden change in temperature. Collections Although the cigarette beetle is common in tropical areas, we believe it was probably imported into the Richter Library in the 1950's through two large collections of gifts. These gifts were stored for a number of years without air conditioning, and were probably infested before they were brought into the library. The Richter Library now routinely examines or freezes gifts before placing them in collections. Most of the beetle infestations involved materials printed from the years 1920 to 1960. Infestations included particularly valuable sets such as: a reprint of the Annals of Congress, portions of the bound Congressional Record, Foreign Relations of the United States, the Treaties and International Acts Series, large runs of the War Department and assorted volumes from the Smithsonian. Sporadic infestations were also in the Departments of Labor, Education (SuDoc FS), and Treasury; the Library of Congress, NASA, the Postal Service, the Patent and Trademark Office, and assorted Congressional Commissions. A few spots of infestation were also identified in the international collection of League of Nations documents. Fortunately, the beetles do not seem attracted to the glue in the Congressional Serial Set or the Division’s self-bound collection of Congressional Hearings. The Congressional Record, however, showed some evidence that it was re-infested before the project was completed, and it subsequently had to be re-frozen. General Plan of Action From 1990 to 1992, the Government Information Division made note of infested shelving areas and some sporadic freezing was done. However, freezing was not systematic, and no follow-up maintenance or monitoring was performed. A large number of volumes of full-text patents were significantly damaged by the beetles and subsequently weeded rather than frozen. It was as late as 1997 that the project was begun in earnest. Since remaining infestations involved valuable works such as the Foreign Relations and the Congressional Record, the project was given much higher priority. In January 1997, the government document shelves were systematically inventoried to determine infestations. A plan of action was developed to prioritize saving the most important sets first. Large amounts of materials needed immediate attention before further damage occurred. A freezer was relocated to aid in the eradication, and a second one was also made available for the Division's use. Freezing was done on a weekly rotating schedule. Materials were placed in small cardboard boxes, and then sealed in large plastic garbage bags. The boxes were placed in already cooled freezers, and quick frozen for three days. The freezers were then unplugged, and slowly thawed to room temperature for another three days. This prevented water damage to the books. While the volumes were in the freezer, a portable vacuum cleaner was used to clean dust, fras and beetle eggs from the emptied shelves. It was important that the shelves were cleaned, as leftover eggs could re-infest materials. Before the volumes were returned to the shelves, a student penciled the word "frozen" and the date on the inside front cover. This helped to track if re-infestations occurred and also prevented freezing the same volume twice. The Division also placed pheromone-laced beetle traps on top of volumes that were known to be infested. Care had to be taken in handling the traps, as they were extremely sticky and hard to remove from shelving and floors if meddled with by students. Beetles, however, were successfully attracted to the scent, and a few days after placement, some beetles could be seen embedded in the sticky glue. Statistics of frozen volumes were collected and a map of infested areas was charted and updated. When the project began, approximately eight shelves of materials were frozen per week. Estimated time to complete the project was one to one and a half years. The project was delayed a few times and eventually completed in about two and a half years. The project took longer than expected due to other projects taking priority, the discontinuity of student labor, and accommodating other Divisions if they needed to use the freezers. Follow-Up Only one part of the collection needed to be re-frozen, and that was the Congressional Record. This was probably due to the large physical size of the volumes, which may have affected how cold the temperature got inside the book covers. While it may be too soon to judge whether the project was completely successful (some beetle larvae have been documented to live eleven years) other volumes were re-checked for signs of fras, and seem to be in good condition. A total of 4,600 volumes were saved from further destruction. While the method of freezing is quite time and labor intensive, it is environmentally friendly, and does not mandate a library shutdown to undertake. Prevention is vitally important to the health of library collections, and all gifts should be thoroughly inspected or frozen before volumes are added. For more about freezing and other environmentally friendly ways to eradicate insects from collections, see Nonchemical Treatment Processes for Disinfestation… by Johanna Wellheiser.3 Special thanks to: * Students and library assistants in the Government Information and Special Formats Division who helped to carry out this project; * Bill Brown, Assistant University Librarian for Administrative Services and Special Collections, for the use of his freezer all those years; and * Jay Kalvan, Collection Management Librarian, for special assistance in this project and with background information for this report. 1. Carol Biscontini, "Housecleaning: Getting Bugs out of Museums," Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 August 1985, p. N01. 2. Mark Jaffe, "A Savior of Beauty, Wisdom and Truth," Philadelphia Inquirer, 8 February 1989, p. B01. 3. Johanna G. Wellheiser, Nonchemical Treatment Processes for Disinfestation of Insects and Fungi in Library Collections (New York: Saur, 1992), 21-38.