[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: New Yorker Article



I think most people would expect the papers in the center of the stack of
newspapers to suffer the most damage because they would be subject to the
full effect of the by-products of deterioration formed as the paper ages.
Some of these by-products could escape from the edges and surface of pages
near the top of the stack before they had a chance to react with the paper. I
remember seeing a study (many years ago) comparing two identical books. One
was in a public library in this country - New York City, I believe - while
the other was in an area of Europe with relatively less atmospheric
pollutants than here. The pages of the book in the States showed a good deal
more yellowing at the edges than at the center of the pages. This was
purported to be from the prevailing pollutants in the city. The book in the
European library showed more yellowing in the center of the pages than on the
edges. The explanation given was the by-products of deterioration were
trapped in the center of the book (hence the yellowing), while they tended to
dissipate some from the exposed edges of the pages. I also remember a
conservation scientist once telling me a book deteriorated more rapidly if
kept in book form than it would if the pages were stored separately.

<I thought it was interesting how similar the article you talked about was to
the one I read in library school and wondered if it was by the same author.
Was the author of the article by chance Nicholson Barker or Baker>

Nicholas Barker was in charge of conservation at the British Library
approximately 20 years ago. Maybe this is the same person?

Bill Hollinger
Conservation Resources
Springfield, VA

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>