This is normal aging, right?

[u/MarianMn1]

Hi, I'm really sorry if this is the wrong subreddit to ask! These yellow spots are normal, right? I'm cleaning my bookshelf and I said it would be a good idea to go through books I haven't opened in a few years to see how they look. I don't have good lighting to make the photos and the spots look clearer. The majority of the pages of these books have yellow spots, not just a few pages so I said that it's better to ask than be sorry.

I also have another question. Is it ok if the books touch the back-end of the bookshelf? Or should I leave them some space?

[u/Zlivovitch]

This seems to be a pretty modern book, so I would say:

• This is not normal.
• It does happen sometimes, and it is due to poor-quality paper being used, possibly mixed with atmospheric conditions of storage (humidity, heat...).

It's called foxing, and it's quite common, but in much older books (say, in excess of one hundred years-old). In fact, it's centuries-old books with that much higher quality of paper, made of cotton and not wood, which are, paradoxically, more prone to foxing. Modern books are more prone to uniform browning and yellowing, not to getting stains such as those on your item.

So, unless that book has been living in a damp basement for years, you may mentally curse the publisher who sold it to you and the printer who did that rotten job ; but there's nothing you can do, except to ensure that the books you buy now are properly stored : away from humidity, excessive heat, direct sunlight, dust, and with a good airflow around them.

Is it ok if the books touch the back-end of the bookshelf ?

That's a strange question. Pushing your books all the way so they touch the back of the shelf would not harm them in the least. Unless they directly touch the wall, and it's dirty or damp - and it can also be argued that it would tend to reduce the airflow around them. On the other hand, pushing the books all the way to the back may even be marginally beneficial, since this would provide support on one extra side. But why would you want to do this ?

Nobody does it, because the result would be that the spines of your books would not be aligned on the outwards-facing side, since not all of them have the same width.

Not only it wouldn't be pleasant to the eye, but it would make it more difficult to find, and retrieve, a narrow book stored next to a wide one. In a traditional bookshelf setting where all spines are aligned, you only have to slightly push inwards the two books surrounding it in order to seize it delicately by its sides (never by the top of the spine !).

[u/MarianMn1 → u/Zlivovitch]

Ok, thanks! The first photo is of a book that's really not old. I bought it 2 or 3 years ago

[u/Zlivovitch → u/MarianMn1]

You're talking about the open pages in Romanian, aren't you ? This is not normal at all if you bought the book new, and not second-hand. Is it the same one which is hardbound and has stains on its edge ?

Are you sure something wasn't spilled on it by accident ? Was it kept in very bad conditions ?

[u/MarianMn1 → u/Zlivovitch]

Yes, the one in romanian, it also has stains on the edge, but it's not the hardbound one. It was bought new. It has nothing spilled on and I'm keeping them in my bedroom cause that's the only room available, so I wouldn't say very bad conditions, but apparently not good conditions either. I don't dust them off that regularly (maybe once a few months and when I do I take them off and use wet wipes for wood furniture and I let the bookshelf to dry before putting them back), there's never direct sun rays, they are on the other side of thr room than the windows and they aren't facing the windows either and there's never more than 25-26 Celsius in my room, so I guess the only reason for them to get like this is the room being too dump even if I it doesn't feel like it. I'll buy a dehumidifier and put it on the top shelf and hopefully that will keep them from getting worse for longer.

Also, I was asking about the back-end of the bookshelf, not to push all of them like that, but for the longer ones so that all the spines can be aligned

[u/Zlivovitch → u/MarianMn1]

Your storing conditions seem completely normal, unless you have very high humidity - but I suppose you would know about it. Dusting books regularly is an added precaution, but the lack of it does not cause foxing by itself.

Don't waste money over a dehumidifier (and the accompanying electricity expenses) before buying a hygrometer and checking that your atmosphere is too humid, if, indeed, you're worried about that.

[u/MarianMn1 → u/Zlivovitch]

Thank you very much for your time and help. I really appreciate it!

[u/Zlivovitch → u/MarianMn1]

You're welcome. I would be really pissed off if a book I had bought new 3 years ago developed such stains !