@Vinbert : This is what I was thinking.

@lynnsgirl :
I agree, I still like the feel of a book in my hand.

What a waste. What a shame to let those books just lay there and rot

@lynnsgirl :
You in a library? Reading?

What are you smoking, honey?

This pic I took of the Baker Hotel on the way to my grandmother's funeral popped up in my memories today. It has such an interesting history.
They're supposed to be renovating it to reopen in 2024.

@Catmae : That's why during Harvey, when several of the libraries flooded, there was a huge rush to get the books on the second floor, that hadn't flooded, out of the building. Their proximity to that water, no climate control in the buildings, would have ruined them. And let me tell ya, mold/mildew is contagious! If you put a book that has mold/mildew or even just water damage, in it on a shelf with other books, it will eventually spread to the other books. And just because you dry a book out, doesn't mean it won't mildew. Once it has been exposed to water, well, all bets are off, unless you use that expensive process done to them. I believe it's almost like baking them, but safely, with no flame. I have also heard of freezing them.
If you're dealing with just your personal collection, you should be ok with a book you dried out. When you're dealing with thousands of books in a collection, water is your enemy.

@Maxsmom : It really is a huge loss and sad.

@Vinbert : This explains what happened to all my Mother's pictures .... assuming they would be "contagious", like books. My Mother's house started falling apart after she passed away. Ended up with some holes in the roof, especially the den, where she kept all the pictures of us growing up. Most of albums ended up with mold starting at the bottom of the pictures and albums. I packed them up in garbage bags, so I could leave them in my garage to dry out. This was in 2020 (pandemic time). Long story short, I lost my leg and didn't get out to take care of the pictures. By the time I got to them, the damage had spread to pictures that had no damage and I couldn't understand why. This explains it. Thanks!

@Catmae : You are oh so very welcome!! People look at me like I'm crazy when I'm checking stuff in, see the water damage, and immediately remove it from the collection. "But I dried it out" Yeah, nope, that doesn't really help.

@Vinbert : So when I was packing to move, my daughter took the pictures that she thought were salvageable and put them in Ziplock bags, so the smell would be contained, until I could figure out what I am going to do with them. From what I understand of what you're saying, all these pictures will continue to "rot". Unless I pay a lot to have an expensive drying procedure used on them?

@Catmae : Pictures are a whole different animal. If it were me, I would try to clean them up gently, and then scan them. You will lose the original picture, but you would at least have the digital image.

@Vinbert : Thank you ... I will try that. When I moved, I sold my two laser printers, because my DS said my travel printer (inkjet) would be all I needed. Unfortunately, the travel printer scans, but doesn't have a platen on which to lay prints, pictures, etc. So I'm going to scan them somewhere else. Oh, I know ... I'll take them to my DS and say he can use HIS laser printer, since he's the one who said I wouldn't need one ...