Hungary's oldest library fighting to save 100k books from a beetle infestation
10 months ago
- #Climate Change
- #Cultural Heritage
- #Book Preservation
- Tens of thousands of centuries-old books at Hungary's Pannonhalma Archabbey are being removed to save them from a drugstore beetle infestation.
- The 1,000-year-old Benedictine monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, houses Hungary's oldest book collection and important historical records.
- Beetles, attracted to book adhesives, have infested about a quarter of the abbey's 400,000 volumes, prompting a large-scale disinfection effort.
- Books will be placed in oxygen-free plastic sacks for six weeks to kill the beetles, then inspected and vacuumed before reshelving.
- Climate change may have contributed to the infestation, as higher temperatures allow beetles to undergo more development cycles annually.
- The abbey's library director emphasizes the cultural and historical significance of the collection, noting the responsibility to preserve these treasures.