The great library story

[Even Flood]

In <2dfcps$l03 at ifi.uio.no>, Geir.Hasnes at DELAB.SINTEF.no writes:
>I include a letter I got from a friend working in the National Library
>Service of Norway. He is representing Norway in an international committee

A comment: The correct name is
National Office for Specialist and Research Libraries. 
The "Friend" mentioned is one of the experts on 
preservation of books and written material.
BTW, that was the organization Don visited when he was in
Norway and had dinner with the head, National Librarian Ben
Rugaas. They are also my employers, so I had to respond to that....

>Normally, rats and other rodents will concentrate on leather, parchment and
>sugary book binder glue. Ruminants, on the other hand, can utilize
>cellulose as nourishment. 

Mayby the rodents do not eat paper, but they certainly
*can* chew it into small pieces, and they do! I know from 
personal experience and have seen the sad remains of
several issues of Chemical Abstracts after mice got into
the basement in the University library in Tromso. 
So that part of the story was sadly accurate. 


Even