Find a cool and dry place to store your antique books. If you store your books in a cellar, be sure to keep them away from the damaging effects of water, as mildew is the number one destroyer of books. Attics that get very hot are also poor places to store books.
Store your books standing upright. Extremely heavy books, however, should be stored laying flat because standing them upright can put too much weight on their spines.
Remove all paper clips, memorabilia, bookmarks and other items from the interior of the books. These items can cause damage to the pages. If you must keep these items, then store them in separate containers with labels indicating to which books they belong.
Use a blow dryer on very low heat to remove labels and adhesives from a book's cover. Never use harmful household cleaners on your book covers. Use petroleum jelly to gently remove stubborn adhesives.
Store the books away from the sun. Once exposed to the sun, a book quickly fades; this harms the book and decreases its value. The sun is the second biggest destroyer of antique books.
Use only acid-free products when repairing or protecting your antique books. Valuable books should be stored in acid-free sleeves or bags.