READING
1. The first books ever written were compilations of
stories that had been transmitted orally, for
example religious scriptures, epic poems and
myths. Does Poland have a long tradition of story-
telling?
Read the text. Underlined the words related to
water. How many other words do you know?
Still nowadays there are stories transmitted from
word of mouth that are not recorded in books.
For instance, our family histories, experiences of
our friends. Can you tell any such stories?
GLOSSARY
heritage: traditions transfer between generations
creek: small stream or river
oxbow remnant: small curved lake left by an older
meander
to stretch back: to go back in time
to cave in: to collapse inwards
to shun: to avoid
to date back: to go back in time
pottery vessel: vase made with baked clay
merely: only
realm: kingdom
whirlpool: eddy, vortex, water spiral
1 Tibbee, a prehistoric oral tradition
Friday night I was asked to tell stories at a
meeting for the West Point Episcopal
Church’s youth group. I was reminded of
how, with all the interest in social media,
the passing down of oral traditions from
generation to generation by story tellers is
being lost.
There is one ancient sacred site in our area where oral
traditions and archaeology merge with a heritage older than
written history. A couple of miles south of West Point on a
gravel road is Tibbee Lake. Although it is near the creek, for
which it is named, it appears to be an oxbow remnant of some
prehistoric stream. As would be fitting for such a strange lake,
there is an oral tradition, a Chickasaw legend that may even
stretch back thousands of years. It tells of how in the distant
past a Chickasaw family once camped by a fallen tree in Tibbee
swamp. In the early morning the mother and father departed to
search for game while leaving their young son and daughter at
the camp site. Upon returning in the afternoon the parents
were horrified to find the ground around their camp site had
caved in, forming a huge lake. There, where their children had
been left, were two huge serpents swimming together. In fear
the horrified parents fled and the lake was “shunned” from that
day on.
How old is that story? It may date back thousands of years and
have been orally passed down from prehistory by the
Chickasaw until finally written down in 1931. How can we think
the story might be that old when its early transmission was only
oral? In excavations at the Moundville site near Tuscaloosa,
Indian pottery vessels dating back to as early as AD 1200 have
been found. One of the designs found on several vessels was
that of a horned serpent. Might the children of Tibbee Lake
represent the story behind that serpent?
According to Dr. Brad Lieb “The story that has passed down to
us is merely a fragment of a rich mythology that native peoples
developed to explain their landscape, teach their cultural
morals and values, and to pass along traditional spiritual
knowledge. It was a tripartite worldview with an upper sky
realm, the earth’s surface which people occupy, and a watery
underworld that was the realm of the dead.”
In southeastern U.S. Native American mythology, deep water
provided a portal to the underworld. These portals were places
of great danger and within them would be found supernatural
creatures such as large serpents. Prior to the construction of
the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, high water would create
a large whirlpool and the appearance of just such a portal at
the mouth of Tibbee Creek.
From The Dispatch
The legend of Tibbee Lake thus may well be a surviving form of
the much older serpent tradition and the danger of its being a
portal to the underworld would have caused it to be shunned.
Page 1 of 3
 “Paradise is a library” Jorge Luis Borges 2 A Legacy of humanity
Libraries have come a long way since their humble
2. Look at the quote, what positive adjectives do beginnings as the modest archives of business records
you associate to a library? available to only a select few; yet throughout history, no
other institution has been as diligent or resilient in helping
Read the text. Can you imagine a world without humanity connect its past, present, and future as libraries.
libraries? How would knowledge be stored and Their continuing legacy is clearly recognized in today’s
preserved? institutions of scholarship, places like universities and
archives, in the internet, and in how we organize knowledge
GLOSSARY in society. Simply put, without libraries, the Western world
Humble: modest, not proud. would never have experienced the Renaissance or

Diligent: someone who works hard and carefully.
Resilient: strong, not easily damaged
Legacy: what is left to others after our death.
Boldly: confident, without fear
Quest: adventure
www.medium.com/everylibrary
developed its modern culture. Especially in our digital age,
libraries move boldly forward with their ancient quest to
preserve and share our heritage through innovative projects
to digitize and provide access to their collections to the
entire world online.

3. What are the most durable materials for the Read the text. Do you agree with the list of
conservation of writing? enemies described? Would you add any other?
3
How to preserve paper items for the future
Understanding the Problem
Since the 1860s all but the most expensive paper has been made from wood pulp. Manufacturers used this because it was much
more plentiful and much less expensive than the cotton fibers they had previously used. However, paper made of wood included
chemicals such as acid. Acid is what causes paper to slowly turn brown and become brittle. Eventually acidic paper will
disintegrate into small pieces of confetti. Exactly how long it takes for a specific piece of paper to self-destruct depends on the
exact nature of the chemicals used to make the product and the way in which paper is stored. Newspaper clippings can often
show a significant amount of aging in ten to twenty-five years. Other paper will decay more slowly, but any paper over fifty years
of age may have developed significant problems. A second problem is acid migration in which acid from low quality paper tends
to bleed out onto neighboring pieces of paper. A typical example of acid migration occurs when a newspaper clipping is enclosed
with a letter for many years. When the letter is re-opened a brown stain in the outline of the clipping has often discolored the
paper on which the letter was written.

The Enemies of Paper

The best way to minimize damage is to properly store your papers away from four hazards: heat, humidity, light, and careless
handling by people. Heat speeds chemical reactions and causes paper to decay more quickly. The rate of change is dramatic;
doubling with every ten degree increase in temperature. Humidity can also destroy paper in two ways. Humidity levels above
seventy percent promote mold growth. Wide variations in humidity cause paper to "cycle," expanding and contracting as water
is drawn from and goes back into the paper fibers. Bright light, particularly sunlight and fluorescent light can also injure records.
Like heat, ultra-violet radiation can speed chemical reactions. However, damage from light usually shows up first in ink which
fades and eventually disappears. Careless handling is probably the most frequent cause of harm to paper. Particularly as paper
ages and becomes brittle, it will easily rip if it is not handled very gently.
Central Michigan university - Clarke Historical Library

Preserving Paper
Store papers in a cool, dry place, where the humidity stays relatively constant. A bedroom closet is often a good choice
particularly if it is air conditioned. Uninsulated attics or damp basements are very poor places to store valuable papers.
Do not expose paper to bright light for extended periods of time. If you feel strongly about displaying a particular document,
mat it in acid-free material, leave a small gap between the item and the glass of the frame, and purchase a glass that filters out
ultra-violet radiation. When hanging the item avoid a location where direct sunlight will reach it.
Do not store particularly bad pieces of paper touching higher quality paper. Do store papers opened (not folded), and flat. Fold
lines place great stress on paper fiber. As paper ages and becomes brittle folds are the place where paper usually first cracks.
Page 2 of 3

How do you store your personal papers? And
how is it done in a library?
GLOSSARY
Pulp: material made with crushed wood
Brittle: fragile
Clipping: cut out from a newspaper or magazine
To decay: to become weaker and get worse
To bleed out: to lose liquid
Stain: mark that is difficult to remove.
Hazard: danger
Mold: fungus
To injure: to hurt or harm
To fade: to disappear slowly
To rip: to break with force
Closet: piece of furniture
Uninsulated: not isolated from the environment
Damp: wet, humid
Basement: room built underground
To feel strongly: to have an opinion
Folded: to wrap around itself, like clothes
4. Have you attempted paper restoration? What is
the most difficult part?
Read the text. Do you agree with the advice?
4 Imbedded = inside another material
Paper restoration - A word of caution
Over the years, professional conservators have developed a
sophisticated array of tools and techniques that can be used
to clean, restore and mend documents or books. Successfully
using these procedures, however, frequently requires
considerable skill, the use of toxic chemicals, and some good
luck. Restoration of damaged paper is often expensive,
frequently risky, and sometimes doesn't work. In most cases it
should only be done by a professional conservator.
Central Michigan university - Clarke Historical Library
The best advice to most do-it-yourself restorers is to do
nothing. Home remedies often not only fail to fix the problem
but introduce new problems that are even more difficult to
fix. It is usually better to store a partially damaged document
under good conditions than to try to fix it without
professional help. Perhaps the most destructive "home
remedy" professional conservators face are repairs done with
self-adhesive tape.
Self-adhesive tape should never be used to repair torn or
ripped paper, or in an attempt to refasten torn covers to a
book. Most tape sticks for only five to ten years. Eventually
the tape fall offs, leaving behind a tear or rip imbedded
with a sticky adhesive mess that discolors the paper. Even
a trained conservator, who could fix the rip or tear in a way
that is permanent, will find it difficult and probably
impossible, to remove the adhesive and the discoloration
from the paper.
Close behind tape in its destructive effect is the practice of
lamination. Lamination does not lengthen the natural life
of paper and its sticky plastic is virtually impossible to
remove. Lamination should not be confused with the
professional practice of "encapsulation." Encapsulated
documents are placed between two sheets of inert plastic.
However the "sandwich" that is created is sealed only
around the edges, thus the document is not attached to
the plastic in any way.
In general, the best advice for preserving your family
papers is to store papers opened, flat, and in a cool, dry
place and to restrain yourself and your family from
attempting any kind of home repairs to damaged items.
GLOSSARY
To mend = to repair
Considerable = a large amount
To face = to encounter
Tear / rip = to break in stripes
Lamination = to place a material between two layers of
thermolabile plastic to seal it
5. T E S T Y O U R K N O W L E D G E
1) Which of these words is not associated to water:
a. creek
b. damp
c. oxbow
d. pulp
e. whirlpool
2) Which of these words can be used in positive
situations:
a. brittle
b. hazard
c. injury
d. to decay
e. to mend
6. S P E A K I N G
• Restoration is expensive and time-
consuming, what documents should be given
priority?
• Digital technology has advanced a great deal.
How can this help restoration?
Daniel Bosch Ibáñez for Nista School of Languages Page 3 of 3