How Hungary’s 1,000-year-old library is tackling a beetle infestation to save 1 lakh books

“This is an advanced insect infestation,” said Zsófia Edit Hajdu, the chief restorer. “It has been detected in several parts of the library, so the entire collection must be treated together”, according to a report by Associated Press (AP).

The beetles were found in a part of the library that holds about a quarter of its 400,000 books. They were first noticed during routine cleaning, when staff saw dust and holes in book spines.

Library contains early Hungarian records

Founded in 996, the abbey is located on a hill in northwest Hungary. It houses the country’s oldest book collection and some of its earliest written records. Over the centuries, the abbey has survived wars and occupations.

Ilona Ásványi, the director of the library, said she often thinks about the responsibility that comes with caring for such an old collection.

This photo provided by Pannonhalma Archabbey shows structural damage of old books due to a drugstore beetle infestation, at the Pannonhalma Archabbey’s library in Pannonhalma, Hungary. (AP)

“There was a library here a thousand years ago,” she said. “We are the keepers of the first book catalogue in Hungary.”

The collection includes 19 medieval codices, such as a full Bible from the 1200s, and hundreds of handwritten documents from before the invention of printing. Many printed books from the 1500s are also kept there.

Ásványi said the most rare and valuable items are stored separately and have not been affected. But she still sees the damage as serious.

“When I see a book chewed up by a beetle or infected in any way, I feel that even if the book is replaceable, a part of culture is lost,” she said.

Books sealed for weeks in oxygen-free treatment

To stop the infestation, the books are being packed into sealed plastic sacks. Oxygen is removed from the bags and replaced with nitrogen. They will stay in this environment for six weeks to kill any insects.

This photo provided by Pannonhalma Archabbey shows books kept in hermetically sealed plastic sacks for disinfection at the Pannonhalma Archabbey’s library in Pannonhalma, Hungary. (AP)

After the treatment, each book will be checked and cleaned. Damaged books will be set aside for repair.

Climate change may be helping beetles spread

The abbey believes climate change may be behind the infestation. Rising temperatures in Hungary may allow the beetles to breed more often than in the past.

“Higher temperatures are favourable for the life of insects,” Hajdu said. “Until now, we mostly dealt with mould. But I think more insect infestations will appear due to global warming.”

The library is expected to reopen early next year. Ásványi said the abbey follows the Rule of Saint Benedict, a set of guidelines that has shaped monastic life for over 1,400 years.

“It says all property of the monastery should be valued like the sacred vessel of the altar,” she said. “That is the level of care we must take.”

(with inputs from AP)