Bringing books back to life

At the National Library of Thailand, Ketsarin Pramuanpat is on a mission to restore damaged tomes

- STORY: THANA BOONLERT

Ketsarin Pramuanpat admits 150 patients every month to her clinic. Her day is more or less the same. She checks their health and treats injuries, whether minor or serious. But these patients are not humans — they are books.

“Patients and books are treated the same to extend their lifespans,” said the book healer in an interview. She is a senior printer and head of a book conservation unit at the National Library of Thailand.

Ketsarin said when she got this job, nobody knew what it was. She graduated with a vocational degree in printing from what is now known as Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep. After working at printing houses for five years, she got this job at the Fine Arts Department in 2006.

“I am not a bookworm. I fall asleep when I read a book. However, I feel an itch to fix broken things. It is fun. Unlike my experience at school and printing houses, my current job focuses more on post-production,” she said. “We want to restore damaged books as best as possible.”

Her patients include general books, rarities and manuscripts, all of which deteriorate over time for a number of reasons. Damage is often the result of careless handling. While excessive humidity provides a favourable condition for mould, dust and dirt create insect infestations that ruin books. Extreme sunlight is also a cause for concern.