Precautionary measure: Historical books in safekeeping

Symbolbild - An der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek (ULB) werden potentiell arsenbelastete Bücher sicher verwahrt. Foto: Barbara Frommann/Uni Bonn all'images in original size . The media is currently reporting on measures affecting university libraries due to books that may be contaminated with toxic arsenic compounds. This mainly concerns volumes from the 19th century in which, for example, bindings have been dyed with arsenic-containing dyes. There are also several thousand potentially contaminated books at the University of Bonn, but these have already been separated by the Bonn University and State Library (ULB) in a closed stacks so that users cannot come into contact with them. Library closures as at other locations are therefore not necessary in Bonn. It is not yet possible to say whether and how many of the books actually contain arsenic.