Hungary's oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation

Tens of thousands of books are being removed from the Pannonhalma Archabbey due to a beetle infestation threatening the collection. Restoration workers are extracting around 100,000 books for disinfection to eliminate the drugstore beetle, which has infected about a quarter of the 400,000 volumes. The infestation was discovered during a cleaning when employees observed dust and burrow holes in the books. Founded in 996, the abbey is a vital cultural and historical site in Hungary, housing the oldest collection of books in the country.

The drugstore beetle, also known as the bread beetle, is often found among dried foodstuffs like grains, flour and spices. But they also are attracted to the gelatin and starch-based adhesives found in books.

This is an advanced insect infestation which has been detected in several parts of the library, so the entire collection is classified as infected and must be treated all at the same time.

Upon opening the volumes, burrow holes could be seen in the paper where the beetles chewed through. The abbey at Pannonhalma was founded in 996, four years before the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary.

For over 1,000 years, the abbey has been among the most prominent religious and cultural sites in Hungary and all of Central Europe.

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