bookscents

When I tell people where I work, I hear so often, "Oh! I would love to work in a library. I love that old book smell."

I'm sure this will spoil lots of bibliophile fantasies and I'm sorry for it, but honestly - excluding special "old book" collections, there is no old book smell in most public libraries. The smell here fluctuates between sinus-searing levels of cleaning product, the general odor of human beings (believe me - there's a reason we're sometimes referred to as "The Great Unwashed"), and an occasional bout of break room related scents like "oh no, who burnt the popcorn/is eating kimchee/left the coffeepot on overnight/brought fish sticks for lunch?"

But if you're really craving that smell, I'd suggest you either go back to say, the 800s, crack open an old poetry tome, stick your nose in between the pages for a good whiff, visit a used book store or use this air "freshener." They even offer a bacon scent, proving once again that everything - even books - is better with bacon.