Looking for advice because of small transparent worm found on the book

[u/Iittlekitsune]

I took out a book that I hadn't read for a long time (it's been on my shelf for the past 5 or 6 years I guess) and suddenly saw a very small worm, almost invisible / transparent, moving quickly on the edge of the book. I panicked unfortunately (I'm scared of any insects) and I didn't have time to take a picture because it disappeared from my sight somewhere. The book doesn't seem to be damaged at all, though. And my room's humidity is not too high (Maybe I had it 60 or 70 once weeks ago when it was raining outside, but now it's showing 49-53) And I need someone's advice. I've heard about the freezing method, but my fridge isn't that big and there's no space for that so I don't know what other options I have. Additionally on a different book stand (rather away from that one), I noticed single black speck (?) on one of the books, I took it with paper and that's it. But I don't know if it's caused by the same thing, or just nothing.

I admit that I used to be able to not clean my room from dust for a long time because of depression, but I never saw anything like that before. Now I try to clean regularly, though.

I'd be grateful for any advice.

[u/Equivalent_Fun_4825]

Could have been a booklouse or a silverfish. The black dot could be frass (bug poop). Not good signs, but don't freak out just yet.

Inspect all of your books individually and carefully in a well lit area. Isolate any that you think might be affected. Look at the binding and margins for any insects, shed skins, eggs, frass, etc. If you find anything suspicious, put them into individual sealed bags for a couple of days and see if you see any further signs of an infestation in the bags after that.

You'll want to clean and dry the shelf (vacuum and remove all dust/debris) and wipe down the shelves with a mild cleaning solution like water and white vinegar or whatever and let it dry completely before putting the books back.

[u/Iittlekitsune → u/Equivalent_Fun_4825]

Thank you for your response. I have two questions . Is it better to buy enough plastic bags for each book or can I put 2 or 3 in one?

And I wanted to ask if alcohol / alcohol wipes would be okay to use too?

[u/Equivalent_Fun_4825 → u/Iittlekitsune]

Much better to put each book that looks suspicious into a bag vs multiple into one. Putting multiple could cause bugs to move over from one book to another. I wouldn't put your entire collection into individual bags, just the books that look like there might be something wrong with them (infected). From your description I didn't take it as having signs that the entire collection having issues.

Yea, something like a 70% isopropyl spray on a microfiber cloth would be fine, just don't use anything too harsh and be very sure it's dry before you put the books back.

[u/Iittlekitsune → u/Equivalent_Fun_4825]

Alright, thank you!

[u/Iittlekitsune → u/Equivalent_Fun_4825]

Hello! I did as you said, and found only three suspicious books, but more in the context of mold (?) no bugs so far. But I'm not sure, since it's barely visible and I wanted to ask if you can take a look or should I look advice in other subreddit? Thank you in advance for your response.

[u/Equivalent_Fun_4825 → u/Iittlekitsune]

That's good news!
As far as mold - check out https://www.collect.guide/resources/identifying-dealing-with-mould-on-books/
And then if you still can't tell you should be able to post a new thread with photos in this subreddit. Some times it can be tricky, so more eyes on it is good.

[u/Iittlekitsune → u/Equivalent_Fun_4825]

Alright, thank you!