College and Research Libraries


Review Articles 

Durability of Paper 
Deterioration of Book Stock: Causes and 

Remedies; Two Studies on the Perma-
nence of Book Paper Conducted by W. J . 
Barrow. Edited by R a n d o l p h W. Church. 
(Virginia State Library Publications, No. 
10.) Richmond, Va.: T h e Virginia State 
Library, 1959. 70p. 

D u r i n g the 1930's the N a t i o n a l Bureau of 
Standards conducted an extensive research 
program on the p e r m a n e n c e of book a n d 
other papers. T h e findings were, on balance, 
anything but reassuring. While these studies 
were certainly well known to at least some 
librarians a n d book publishers, n o general 
tocsins were sounded a n d n o organized ac-
tions were taken to remedy the deteriorating 
p a p e r situation, with the m a j o r exception of 
a series of steps to microfilm newspapers. T h e 
scientific phraseology of the Bureau's reports, 
the non-library media in which most of the 
reports appeared, a n d even some of the op-
timistic statements contained in some of the 
reports, may have combined to minimize 
professional response to the issues posed. O n e 
example of optimism was the following state-
m e n t : " T h e tests indicated that the quality 
of p a p e r available at the time f o r perma-
n e n t records was not in general as good as 
considered desirable, a n d this was a t t r i b u t e d 
to the probability of good p r i n t i n g quality 
having been given more a t t e n t i o n than per-
manence. T h e situation in this respect has 
since been materially improved by the in-
creased a t t e n t i o n given permanence require-
ments by p a p e r manufacturers, printers, a n d 
l i b r a r i a n s . " 1 

T h i s new pamphlet, Deterioration of Book 
Stock: Causes and Remedies, s t r o n g l y s u g -
gests that this optimism of 1937 was probably 
ill-founded. T h e new r e p o r t is a partial pres-
entation of the results of a series of studies 
on the deterioration of m o d e r n book papers 
conducted by the Virginia State Library un-
der the technical supervision of W . J . Bar-

1 A. E. Kimberly and B. W. Scribner, Summary Re-
port of National Bureau of Standards Research on 
Preservation of Records. (National Bureau of Standards 
Miscellaneous * Publication M l 54; Washington, D. C . : 
Government Printing Office, 1937). 

row with a g r a n t f r o m the Council on Li-
brary Resources. T h e title of the p a m p h l e t 
is a bit misleading for it deals with the causes 
of the deterioration of book stock only by 
inference. However, the subtitles within the 
booklet are specific a n d more clearly indica-
tive of the contents: "Study 1, Physical 
Strength of Non-Fiction Book Papers, 1900-
1949"; a n d "Study 2, T h e Stabilization of 
Modern Book Papers." O t h e r reports of the 
work on these studies have a p p e a r e d in Pub-
lishers' Weekly, S e p t e m b e r 2 , 1 9 5 7 a n d J a n u -
ary 5, 1959, a n d a q u i t e detailed report ap-
peared in Science, April 24, 1959. T h i s book-
let gives supplementary data on the books 
chosen for the samples, 1900-1949, a n d 1955-
57, a n d the results of the stabilization of 
modern book papers, but it should be read 
in conjunction with the other reports to get 
a reasonably complete picture of the re-
search to date. 

In brief, the research completed or in prog-
ress u n d e r these grants involves these topics 
or problems: (1) T o ascertain the current 
physical strength, determined principally by 
tear resistance a n d folding endurance, of the 
paper in a carefully chosen sample of some 
five h u n d r e d unused books, published in the 
U n i t e d States between 1900 a n d 1949. (2) 
Similar data were compiled for thirty-two 
titles published between 1955 a n d 1957 as a 
basis for comparison. (3) Some twenty-six dif-
ferent reams of f r e q u e n t l y used American 
book papers were obtained a n d samples of 
these papers were tested in a similar fashion 
before a n d after accelerated aging tests. (4) 
These same p a p e r samples were also treated 
with a stabilizing solution a n d then tested 
for endurance before a n d after accelerated 
aging. (5) Finally, the investigators have 
t u r n e d their attention to the feasibility of 
economically m a n u f a c t u r i n g attractive a n d 
reasonably p e r m a n e n t book papers. 

Substantial evidence on all of these prob-
lems has been given in the cited reports. 
T h e investigators conclude that while atmos-
pheric sulphur dioxide a n d other adverse 
external effects may hasten the physical deteri-
oration of book papers in libraries, the pri-
mary causes of p a p e r deterioration are the 
result of the original ingredients in the pa-

S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 0 417 



per, the m a n u f a c t u r i n g processes, or both, 
T h e study reveals that the useful life of the 
p a p e r used in books p r i n t e d between 1900-
49 is likely to be short: e.g., " T h e m e d i a n 
folding e n d u r a n c e of the total sample f o r 
the five decades is well below the correspond-
ing figure for new newsprint. Actually 76 
per cent of the books f o r the first f o u r dec-
ades are below the range f o r new newsprint 
(twelve to forty-five folds) in f o l d i n g endur-
ance; 17 per cent are within that range, a n d 
only 6 per cent are stronger." 2 Or, m o r e 
pungently: ". . . it seems p r o b a b l e that most 
library books p r i n t e d in the first half of the 
twentieth century will be in an u n u s a b l e 
condition in the next c e n t u r y . " 3 

O t h e r findings are to the effect that m a n y 
of the papers f r e q u e n t l y used for c u r r e n t 
books p r i n t i n g have very unsatisfactory life 
expectancies; that treating these papers with 
an aqueous solution of magnesium carbonate 
a n d calcium carbonate will a p p a r e n t l y ex-
tend their folding a n d tear resistance enough 
to suggest that some of them might serve 
usefully for an indefinite period; a n d that 
a book p a p e r of excellent a p p e a r a n c e with 
fine p r i n t i n g quality can be m a n u f a c t u r e d 
with sufficient alkalinity to predict a long 
life. T h e r e p o r t itself is p r i n t e d on such 
specially m a n u f a c t u r e d paper. P a p e r that has 
already deteriorated cannot, of course, be 
restored to useful life by the proposed sta-
bilization treatment; the process is one that 
can only arrest deterioration. F u r t h e r re-
search may be needed to d e t e r m i n e the level 
of deterioration beyond which stabilization 
is unlikely to be worthwhile. 

Clearly there are at least two m a j o r issues 
emerging from this research that deserve 
p r o m p t a n d vigorous library attention. Li-
brarians must begin to exert whatever influ-
ence they can to see that books i n t e n d e d f o r 
p e r m a n e n t use are p r i n t e d on papers with 
a reasonable, and tested, prospect of perma-
nence. Action should n o t be delayed on this 
matter where libraries are the primary or 
sole purchasers a n d can, in consequence, en-
force compliance with acceptable standards 
or decline to purchase. Such action with re-
spect to many m a j o r bibliographical, ab-
stracting, a n d reference tools would a p p e a r 

2 W. J . Barrow and Peavis C. Sproull, "Permanence 
in Book P a p e r s . " Science, 129 (April 24, 1959) 1078. 

3 Deterioration of Book Stock: Causes and Remedies 
. . . p. 16. 

to be long overdue, relatively easy to organ-
ize, a n d relatively easy to enforce. I n many 
ways, a failure to take such action p r o m p t l y 
could be regarded as an abdication of profes-
sional responsibility. An assurance by a pub-
lisher that a work is p r i n t e d on "good book 
paper, free of g r o u n d wood fibers" is n o t 
sufficient by itself to assure reasonable per-
manence. T h e tests conducted by Mr. Bar-
row reveal not only that special papers, de-
signed f o r permanence, can now be m a n u -
factured, b u t that there are a few papers 
that are already m a n u f a c t u r e d with reason-
ably acceptable characteristics. T h e r e are 
almost certainly others. P r o p e r efforts to per-
suade p a p e r m a n u f a c t u r e r s to make a n d gen-
eral publishers to use p e r m a n e n t papers will 
surely be effective b u t are likely to take 
longer than efforts directed toward publica-
tions destined essentially f o r the library 
market. 

T h e second broad issue emerging f r o m 
these studies relates to the actions that li-
brarians will have to take with respect to 
books already in their collections. For those 
books that are already falling apart, the only 
relief is still some form of r e p r o d u c t i o n . For 
the others, Barrow recommends soaking the 
pages of the book in the alkaline stabilizing 
solution a f t e r the b i n d i n g has been removed. 
H e asserts that with simple e q u i p m e n t semi-
skilled labor can process some 2,500 pages 
per day. Based on a very unscientifically se-
lected sample, we d e t e r m i n e d that a rela-
tively f u l l three-foot shelf (chosen more or 
less at r a n d o m in American history) held 
twenty-two b o u n d volumes a n d three un-
b o u n d pamphlets, c o n t a i n i n g approximately 
9,281 pages. Based u p o n Barrow's estimate 
of 2,500 pages per day, a n d an eight-hour 
day, the p r o d u c t i o n rate would be approxi-
mately 312 pages per hour. Applying this 
rate to the sample shelf of books would thus 
r e q u i r e at least 28.9 p r o d u c t i o n m a n hours. 
Assuming a $1.50 per h o u r m i n i m u m labor 
cost, a n d a d d i n g a conservative $1.25 per 
volume for re-binding (journals would, of 
course, be much higher) would b r i n g the 
total cost to a r a t h e r conservative $70.85 or 
a b o u t $.0076 per page. If we assume, u n l i k e 
our sample, that the average n u m b e r of pages 
in a typical library " v o l u m e " is 3124, we 

4 This is a completely arbitrary figure" to match the 
estimated stabilizing rate per man hour. 

418 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S 



m i g h t reasonably a n t i c i p a t e t h a t the costs of 
stabilization may be i n the vicinity of $2.75, 
± 50 p e r cent, p e r volume. W e assume the 
cost of e q u i p m e n t a n d chemicals to be negli-
gible. T h i s cost w o u l d be less t h a n t h a t of 
m a k i n g a single negative microfilm. Coopera-
tive filming m i g h t p r o d u c e a m o r e competi-
tive r a t e w h e t h e r a master negative were 
m a d e to be used only if, as, a n d w h e n a 
n e e d f o r a copy materialized, o r d u p l i c a t e 
p r i n t s were r u n off a n d d i s t r i b u t e d to the 
p a r t i c i p a n t s . Microfilming would also offer 
r e d u c e d space costs, b u t it w o u l d result in 
h i g h e r costs f o r use a n d be m u c h less con-
v e n i e n t o r even impractical f o r m a n y types 
of m a t e r i a l . F u r t h e r m o r e , if a cooperative 
microfilm negative is feasible in terms of 
accessibility, then the profession m i g h t be 
well advised to consider a cooperatively sta-
bilized copy or two of seldom used titles. I t 
m i g h t be less costly a n d m u c h m o r e conven-
i e n t in the l o n g r u n t h a n f o r each library 
i n d e p e n d e n t l y to try to stabilize or micro-
film everything of possible interest. T h e 
economies of massive cooperative r e p r i n t i n g 
may also be competitive with microfilm or 
chemical stabilization. I t should be possible 
to mechanize the stabilizing o p e r a t i o n a n d 
possibly reduce the labor costs very signifi-
cantly; the r e - b i n d i n g cost a p p e a r s inescapa-
ble. C u r r e n t periodicals, if n e e d e d in original 
form, should obviously be t r e a t e d b e f o r e 
the initial b i n d i n g . If chemical stabilization 
is to be used, it is a b u n d a n t l y clear t h a t the 
sooner it is started, the g r e a t e r will be t h e 
n u m b e r of i m p o r t a n t books salvaged in use-
f u l f o r m . 

O n e may take the h a p p y a n d c o m p l a c e n t 
view t h a t the p e r m a n e n t loss of a few thou-
sand tons of books a n d j o u r n a l s each year 
for the n e x t fifty or o n e h u n d r e d years may 
d o the world little harm—possibly some 
g o o d — a n d be right. B u t u n f o r t u n a t e l y , n o 
two p e o p l e are likely to agree o n the titles 
to be c o n d e m n e d to e x t i n c t i o n , a n d even if 
they could, it w o u l d n o t be just the worthless 
books a n d j o u r n a l s t h a t will be stricken. As 
all librarians know, the best a l o n g with the 
worst will be eager c a n d i d a t e s f o r disintegra-
tion. Research a n d o t h e r libraries of perma-
n e n t record may confidently a n t i c i p a t e t h a t 
a growing p e r c e n t a g e of their b u d g e t s will 
be r e q u i r e d to meet, in o n e way or a n o t h e r , 
this p r o b l e m . W e are i n d e b t e d to Messrs. 
Barrow a n d C h u r c h a n d the Council on Li-

brary Resources f o r a well designed a n d 
clearly r e p o r t e d investigation of a very seri-
ous p r o b l e m . W h i l e it w o u l d be h e l p f u l to 
have the presently scattered reports o n this 
investigation b r o u g h t together i n o n e con-
solidated r e p o r t , it does n o t a p p e a r too soon 
f o r the ALA, A R L , a n d o t h e r affected g r o u p s 
to begin weighing the impfications of this 
investigation a n d to set a b o u t designing an 
efficient a n d effective p r o g r a m to r e s p o n d 
to the situation. It a p p e a r s to be later t h a n 
w e t h i n k . — H e r m a n H. Fussier, University 
of Chicago Library. 

A Rewarding Festschrift 
Libris et Litteris. Festschrift fiir Hermann 

Tiemann zum 60. Geburtstag. H r s g . v o n 
Christian Voigt u n d Erich Z i m m e r m a n n . 
[ H a m b u r g ] Maximilian-Gesellschaft, 1959. 
364p„ 16 illus. DM40. 

T h i s volume, excellently p r o d u c e d for the 
Maximilian-Gesellschaft, was issued in h o n o r 
of the l i b r a r i a n of the State a n d University 
Library of H a m b u r g , Dr. H e r m a n n T i e -
m a n n . T h e variety of articles, of which many 
are of scholarly value, reflects the wide in-
terest a n d the e r u d i t i o n of o n e of the lead-
ing figures in c o n t e m p o r a r y G e r m a n li-
b r a r i a n s h i p . T h e Festschrift is divided i n t o 
t h r e e parts, o n e d e a l i n g with l i b r a r i a n s h i p , 
a n o t h e r w i t h the history of books, a n d a 
t h i r d with literary history. T h i s review will 
for obvious reasons be more concerned with 
the first t h a n w i t h the second a n d t h i r d 
parts. 

Dr. Schmidt-Kunsemuller reviews Her-
m a n n T i e m a n n ' s place in l i b r a r i a n s h i p , par-
ticularly the r e b u i l d i n g of the largely de-
stroyed H a m b u r g library a n d the formula-
tion of West G e r m a n library policies a f t e r 
the debacle of 1945. T w o carefully discussed 
p r o b l e m s will be of special interest to 
American readers: (1) the r e l a t i o n s h i p be-
tween c e n t r a l a n d d e p a r t m e n t a l libraries in 
universities ( T i e m a n n , like so many of us, 
strives towards a policy of s u p p l e m e n t a t i o n 
r a t h e r t h a n competition); a n d (2) the place 
of a central n a t i o n a l library in the network 
of research libraries (he sees a central library 
n o t as an o v e r p o w e r i n g universal library, 
b u t as an i n s t i t u t i o n which s h o u l d f u r n i s h a 

S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 0 419