SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024
Heritage is not just about architecture and buildings, it encompasses a vast variety of items. The visible heritage attracts eyeballs, its degradation gets noticed and there will be interventions to recover the damage. While Goa worries about the Basilica of Bom Jesus that is facing a major threat from the monsoon, there are other heritage objects that are also under risk of being lost. Last week Herald reported on the lack of a controlled environment at the State Central Library where the air-conditioning system has failed for several months. Book lovers were shocked, but sadly there were persons within the library who believed that Herald had created a mountain out of a molehill of an issue. But, we beg to differ on this, and feel that it is an issue worth discussing and taking to a logical conclusion.
To put the issue into perspective, the Central Library building has six floors and the rare book collection is housed in the topmost floor. The roof of the building is of aluminum which absorbs the heat of the sun passes it on to the books right under it. Anyone walking into the library will welcome the cool confines of the building at the ground floor itself, but as one goes up the floors it definitely gets hotter. The top floor is definitely the hottest and it is here that the most valuable of books are stored. This library has some of the oldest books in the country. The printing press was invented in Germany in around 1440 and the first press to India was brought to Goa by the Portuguese in 1556 and printing operatons began at the Jesuit Saint Paul’s College in Old Goa. The first book published was Conclusiones Philosophicas, followed by many others. Here at the Central Library are books that go back over 400 years and there exists a book of codices on the Roman law written somewhere in the 15th Century. The library also has books from the St Paul’s College press.
This collection of rare books, including newspapers published in Goa over the centuries, is a part of the heritage of Goa and it has to be preserved. Regardless of the outside temperatures, rare and old books require a controlled environment for their preservation. The conservation of books mandates a certain uniform temperature and humidity conditions. The reason for this is simple – all paper products are fragile and absorb and release moisture. The older the book the more susceptible it will be to changes in temperature and humidity leading to visible changes in the books – damages for that matter – like warped covers and flaking ink. Besides, the paper too will begin to break down. High temperatures, and this is what is occurring at the Central Library, will serve to accelerate the deterioration of the books.
The malfunctioning of the air conditioning system led to the library staff using fans and opening windows to allow for breeze and cool air. Such measures are frowned upon in book conservation as outside air will not only result in a change in temperature but also bring in dust that can settle on the books. One of the measures in conserving old books is to keep them away from heat, in the current case the books are in the most direct source of heat in the library as they are stored in the topmost floor that only has an aluminum sheet to protect it from the sunlight.
For years, before the Central Library shifted to its current premises at Patto, the rare collection of books remained stacked in the old premises with no controlled temperature. It is only after the library had its own building that there was the possibility of having a completely controlled environment for the protection of the books. This now has suffered a major setback with the malfunctioning air conditioning system which needs to be rectified at the earliest. Every day this delays the damage to the books will only increase. Digitisation of the old volumes may solve the problem of retaining the matter that the books contain, but it is not the same as the hard copy. What Central Library possesses is a veritable treasure trove that if allowed to deteriorate will be a major failing on the part of the authorities. A collection as valuable as that which is housed in the Central Library has to be preserved.
The concept of preserving books appears to have been diluted in the digital age. Yet it is even more important now to preserve the printed books as simultaneously what is being conserved is the artifact value of the book, and given that some of the volumes in the Central Library date back centuries, their value in incalculable. In that sense, by preserving these books there is a maintenance of a cultural heritage that goes back centuries and will be handed down in the future. Besides the scholarly value of a book just cannot be taken away from it. Book aficionados donate their collections to libraries so that they can be conserved. Libraries are meant to safeguard the books, let not Central Library deviate from this task.
Books, newspapers and magazines are what chronicle the past for us in the present to read and for those in the future to review. Central Library is the only repository of the varied newspapers that have been published in Goa in various languages. No other institute in the State will possess the collection that this State library has. A blog on the Smithsonian Library site states, “Conserving books is saving the past: who we were, where we came from, how we lived, what we did and how we did it. We should not forget; we should not lose the past, which is why it is so important that we conserve books.” This is what we should remember as we make attempts to preserve the books at the library. The books of the past centuries and the books of the current century. They are all important. If the protectors of the books do not appreciate the value of a book, who will?
