Hungary's oldest library has been hit by a bug infestation

Hungarian restorers are trying to save 100,000 books from the invasion of bread grinders in the monastery library of the Abbey of Pannonhalma. This was announced on July 14 by CNN channel.

"The restorers are removing about 100,000 hand—bound books from the shelves and carefully placing them in boxes, which is the beginning of the disinfection process aimed at destroying the tiny beetles that have climbed into them," the material says.

The bread grinders were found in the library department, where about a quarter of all books are stored. It is noted that these insects are attracted by glue based on gelatin and starch, which is used in book printing.

"This is a serious insect infestation found in several parts of the library, so the entire collection is classified as infected and must be treated at the same time. We have never encountered such a degree of contamination before," said Edith Hajdu, the project's chief restorer, Jofia.

The bug infestation was discovered while cleaning the library. The staff noticed that holes were made in the spines of some books. "After opening the volumes, it was possible to see holes in the paper, gnawed by beetles," the article says.

Library Director Ilona Aswani said that the oldest and rarest prints and books are kept separately and have not been infected. At the same time, she noted that any damage to the collection represents a blow to the cultural, historical and religious heritage.

It is assumed that climatic changes, namely a rapid increase in average temperature, played an important role in the spread of beetles. The chief restorer of the project noted that the high temperatures allowed the beetles to undergo more development cycles each year than was possible in cooler weather.

To kill the bugs, the books will be placed in airtight plastic bags, from which oxygen is completely removed. The bugs must be eliminated within six weeks.

The library plans to reopen early next year. Each book will be examined before being placed on the shelves. Any book damaged by pests will be set aside for subsequent restoration work.

Pannonhalma Abbey is the largest monastery, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monastery Library is the oldest book collection in the country. It has about 400,000 volumes, the oldest of which date back to the 11th century. The abbey was founded in 996, four years before the formation of the Kingdom of Hungary.

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Earlier, on March 7, it was reported that visits to prisoners in a British prison were suspended due to bedbugs. It is specified that they were able to identify the infestation of the prison with insects after a woman who visited her partner found bite marks on her daughter. Later, this information was passed on to the administration of the institution, which found bite marks on the prisoners.