Blocking sunlight

Hello all. I’ve got one Billy bookshelf against a wall that is in line of sunshine coming in from my window and I would like to get some advise on how I can block sunlight that’s coming in during the day? I do have blinds but I would like to raise them to air out and let some light into the room.

I’ve heard that there some adhesive UV film that can be purchased but is that enough? I have no experience with this and would like to avoid sun fading on my spines of my books.

There are cordless shades which are safe (for pets and children) and should block enough sunlight to help protect your books. Something like this could help: https://www.selectblinds.com/cellular-shades/classic-cordless-blackout-shades.ht...

>1 ironjaw: I've got the same question. My home library has several windows and a glass exterior door; most of these have double-pane glass and haven't seemed to let in enough UV to affect my books or furniture. But there is a small single-pane window that does seem to be an issue, and I'm thinking of applying UV film to that one.

The only 100% sure way to prevent light damage is to store books in the dark. As the next best thing I keep LEs and vulnerable books in a ventilated closet. Most sealed double-glazed windows now incorporate UV protection.
Incidentally strip lighting can emit UV rays.

>1 ironjaw:
Faisel, my high-rise condo contains five sliding glass doors which are my only "windows." I bought this place because of the views (on the edge of Lake Michigan) so keeping everything in the dark all the time was a non-starter. I purchased a UV protective film that was professionally installed on the inside of these windows/sliding doors. They seem to work well, but I believe only rated to block 95% of the UV light. Not sure how effective it would be over time.

Honestly, it was at least 15 years ago so I no longer remember the manufacturer, and in any case US based so not helpful to you. But I can tell you that after extensive research I determined this was the best compromise between my view and my books. The film only slightly darkened the windows and is no longer noticeable to me.

Back in the day 3M was the best-known supplier of UV film, with European distributors. Now there's a large variety of suppliers. Most window makers use a gas between the layers of glass.

Here is something that I did in my last flat: Instead of attaching shades to the windows, I attached them to the Billies. It does not look particularly nice, but you would only need the shades down while the room is being ventilated.

Simplicity in itself. All you need to do is release an enormous cloud of dust at L1 of the Earth-Sol system.

Hope that's helped.

>8 gmacaree: is that the Lagrange point? If so. That was priceless.

>7 Andrew14: that’s interesting but that’s not what I’m thinking about. I do have the doors that are half glass so I could do something about covering the glass up. But with what?

>5 UK_History_Fan: thanks, Sean. I’m thinking about the same thing about getting hold of UV film.

>2 Tyler_ghaskjd: I do have blinds/shades that I could just turn to keep the room dark but that’s the only in the room and I air out in the morning and turn the blinds to let the light in.

>3 JacobHolt: and >6 Jayked:. Thanks. UV films is what I’m thinking of getting. Any suggestions.

>9 ironjaw: :)

>9 ironjaw: If your bookcases have glass doors, you could put UV film on them instead of windows. Cheaper and faster.

>4 Jayked: "The only 100% sure way to prevent light damage is to store books in the dark."

True, but that's the hard line if you're trying to make the books last forever (or more realistically, until some other failure mode takes over). 100% protection is unnecessary if one adjusts one's longevity needs to something closer to one's remaining lifetime (or that plus one's progeny's life, if handing the library down).

>4 Jayked: >12 treereader:
Some cloth wears quickly, especially in sunlight, as with many of the LECs. But good leather will last two generations or more. I have many Franklin Library volumes that I bought as long ago as 40-50 years, and they still look and feel fresh. I’ve never taken any precautions against the elements nor have I used any kind of leather conditioner or cleaner.

I wasn't advocating darkness, just pointing out that perfection is impossible. In North America, where most people have, or can have air-conditioning and low-e windows, it's not hard to keep books in decent condition, unless they're inherently fragile. My older Folios, bought in the fifties in the UK, haven't fared as well, certainly not good for my lifetime.
Some of the early Folio leatherbounds are among the worst offenders, e.g. the small poetry series. Folio advocates not using conditioners, but have no suggestions for coping with damage. I have a couple of original full leather Franklins that are as good as new, but even good leather has its limits. When I was in high school the library was lined with leather tomes from the 18th and 19th century. If you took one down and opened it the spine was likely to explode and blow a cloud of pepper in your face. Looked good on the shelves though.

>14 Jayked: leather bindings will keep for hundreds of years but does probably need more thoughtful care than would be available in a high school library, if my memory of high school libraries is anything to go by.

For a sense about taking this seriously, the Pepys Library at Cambridge is a good example.

Unless we are talking about museum level conservation though, just preventing direct sunlight is most of the battle.

That said, I don't display any of my books, apart from a few coffee table art books. I keep them in shelves with doors. I come across too many sun faded spines on the secondhand market, and for books that didn't come out that long ago. A fun personal example is a Frank O'Hara volume I have (Selected Poems, published by Knopf in 2008):



(The image is not of my copy, which is at the office right now and so not accessible at the moment; I just grabbed this photo from the Internet and cropped the relevant portion.) Anyways, the white square on the spine of the dust cover apparently doesn't block sunlight as well as the teal or black, so there is a very clear sunning mark of exactly that shape. And I bought the copy new, from Amazon probably, not that long ago, certainly less than 12 years ago by the publication date. I've always treated my books nicely, but back then I didn't have any fine editions and didn't know much about the finer points of preserving book condition.

I do have one bookcase that gets some direct sunlight occasionally which has glass doors. I put UV-blocking film on the glass. I am not sure how effective the film is though, so I don't keep any of my favorite books in that bookcase unless they have a slipcase that I can shelve reversed for protection.

This might sound like a bit much, but I also dislike clutter, and would appreciate storage that keeps things out of sight even if I didn't care as much about preserving book condition.

>11 elladan0891: Thanks. that's exactly what I am going to do.

The wcarter memorial infinity library will, of course, have totally transparent, yet UV-blocking, technology. (Never mind its time-negating Folio-book-preserving pyramid and gravity-cancelling ability to hover in the cup thrown by Arthur Dent.) Or, as Arthur C. Clarke puts it, our technology will be sufficiently advanced that it will be indistinguishable from magic.

The Vogons will be along shortly to clean up the mess afterwards.

We apologise for the inconvenience.

:-)

>17 Cat_of_Ulthar:

Arthur C. Clarke knew a thing or two ...

>17 Cat_of_Ulthar: 😀😀😀
Actually, my library has no windows, a twisting entry and is pitch dark unless the LED lights are on.

>19 wcarter: I don’t like pitch darkness

>20 ironjaw:
But books do.