Sticky Problem
BODLEIAN OFFICIALS ARE reported to be shocked at alleged misstatements made in a recent Daily Telegraph article. It reported that the Bod had damaged a collection of books in the Upper Reading Room, whereas the library's employees deny that any books were in fact damaged.
The article - under the headline 'Ripping Time' - claimed that staff at the Bodleian had hastily re-shelved books in the Upper Reading Room after the shelves had been varnished during the room's redecoration. It reported that the books became glued to the shelves and "sustained damage as they were peeled off."
Michael Turner - of the library's Preservation and Conservation department - told the Oxford Student: "The whole story got blown in the wrong direction." He said that the shelves were not revarnished but repainted, and that so far there have been no reports of damaged books in the room in question.
Apparently the vinyl-based paint the decorators used caused a few of the books to leave a mark on shelves in the North Wing of the Upper Reading Room as they were re-arranged. But Turner re-iterated: "The books marked the shelves a little, but there has been no damage to any of the books."
26th Oct 2000