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This article traces the history of the relationship of papermaking and paper to libraries over time. Paper was first made in China and is traditionally considered one of that nation's four greatest inventions, along with gun powder, printing, and the compass. Papermaking was often associated with archives in its early development in China, as well as when it was introduced to Japan, where it came to be a part of some Shinto and Buddhist temples, and later governmental agencies. Under Islam, the availability of paper was linked to increased literacy and growth of libraries. In early modern Europe, before the widespread use of wood in the papermaking process, libraries and archives were part of an "economy of paper" with paper at times being in short supply. In the modern era, the world of papermaking did not intersect much with the world of the library, which made progress with the problem of brittle books, one of its greatest challenges, slow, though recent efforts of government, industry, scientists, and representatives of the library have produced positive results. The damage caused by wood-based paper in libraries was mirrored by the environmental damage caused by wood-based papermaking in communities. The history of papermaking and libraries demonstrates the importance of understanding the technologies which support the library, while also advocating effectively to the representatives of all its sources of support in ways which promote the values of the library and its associated community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article models a mode of feminist bibliography by "surface reading" paper. Taking Ben Jonson's Sejanus His Fall (1605) as a case study, this article reads watermarks as reminders of paper's three-dimensional materiality, whose surfaces and depths model the more and less legible forms of labor which contribute to paper's making. Watermarks here become a creative and critical prompt to recover the interventions of John Spilman (the papermaker whose output was used for Sejanus), Spilman's workers, and especially his female ragpickers. This article fuses close reading of literary texts and archival sources with bibliography and theory to demonstrate fresh affordances of watermarks—both as they alter our reading of Sejanus and as they intervene more broadly in the affective and political models with which we read. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of ambient or altered environmental conditions on the inactivation of SARS‐CoV‐2 applied to materials common in libraries, archives and museums. Methods and Results: Porous and non‐porous materials (e.g. paper, plastic protective book cover) were inoculated with approximately 1 × 105 TCID50 SARS CoV‐2 (USA‐WA1/2020), dried, placed within test chamber in either a stacked or unstacked configuration, and exposed to environmental conditions ranging from 4 to 29°C at 40 ± 10% relative humidity. The amount of infectious SARS‐CoV‐2 was then assessed at various timepoints from 0 to 10 days. Ambient conditions resulted in varying inactivation rates per material type. Virus inactivation rate decreased when materials were stacked or at colder temperatures. Virus inactivation rate increased when materials were unstacked or at warmer temperatures. Conclusions: SARS‐CoV‐2 at ambient conditions resulted in the inactivation of virus below limit of quantitation (LOQ) for all materials by Day 8. Warmer temperatures, for a subset of materials, increased SARS‐CoV‐2 inactivation, and all were

The Škofiče manuscript, kept by the Diocesan Archives in Klagenfurt, was severely damaged and thus not available for users. The paper presents the methodology of choosing the correct conservation-restoration treatments and their execution. Damaged parts were restored in such manner that the existing structural elements, which had been added to the binding through time, were kept, adjusted and included into the binding restoration. Torn and missing parts of the pages of the book block were also restored. After these treatments, the book is again available for use. Conservation-restoration treatments were performed at the Restoration and Conservation Centre of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ottoman Archives have one of the richest archive collections in the world. However, not all the archived documents are well preserved and some undergo biodeterioration. Therefore, a rapid and promising treatment method is necessary to preserve the collection for following generations as heritage. Radiation presents as an alternative for the treatment of archival materials for this purpose. In this study, we conducted a survey to determine the contamination species and the D 10 values of the samples obtained from the shelves of the Ottoman Archives. The samples also included several insect pests collected at using a pheromone trap placed in the archive storage room. With the exception of few localized problems, no active pest presence was observed. The D 10 values of mold contamination and reference mold ( A. niger ) were found to be 1.0 and 0.68 kGy, respectively. Based on these results, it can be concluded that an absorbed dose of 6 kGy is required to remove the contamination from the materials stored in the Ottoman Archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper occupies a special place in histories of knowledge. It is the substrate of communication, the stuff of archives, the bearer of marks that make worlds. For the early-modern period in particular we now have a wealth of studies of ‘paper tools’, of the ways in which archives were assembled and put to use, of the making of lists and transcribing of observations, and so on. In other fields, too, attention has turned to the materiality of information. How far is it possible to draw a stable methodology out of the insights of literary and book historians, bibliographers, anthropologists, and those working in media studies? Do these diverse fields in fact refer to the same thing when they talk of paper, its qualities, affordances and limitations? In attempting to answer these questions, the present essay begins in the rich territory of early-modern natural philosophy – but from there opens out to take in recent works in a range of disciplines. Attending to the specific qualities of paper is only possible, I argue, if it is understood that paper can be both transparent and opaque depending on the social world it inhabits and helps to constitute. Paper flickers into and out of view, and it is precisely this quality that constitutes its sociomateriality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aim was to determine the effectiveness of disinfection methods: thyme essential oil microatmosphere (TEO), silver nanoparticles misting (AgNPs), and low temperature plasma (LTP) by culture-dependent method and RNA analysis. In addition, we examined the influence of disinfection on mechanical and optical properties of paper from historical books with different levels of microbial contamination. All disinfection methods were generally bacteriostatic and fungistatic. The AgNPs misting method was more effective for bacterial inhibition ( R = 60–100%), than LTP ( R = 25–100%) and TEO ( R = 12–100%); all tested methods were less effective for fungi ( R = 0–99.8%). TEO exhibits a broader spectrum of fungicidal activity compared to AgNPs and LTP. The antimicrobial effectiveness depended on the area from where the microorganisms were isolated and their sensitivity to the active agent. A higher disinfection effectiveness was observed for books with higher levels of microbial contamination. RNA concentration was a good marker of antimicrobial activity of disinfection. RNA amount decreased by 95–100% after disinfection with LTP and TEO, and by 29–89% after AgNPs disinfection. Disinfection of paper from historical books with LTP, AgNPs and TEO did not significantly influence or have a positive effect on the mechanical and optical properties of paper from tested historical books. We show that LTP, TEO, and AgNPs can be used as microbiostatics, alternatively to the currently available methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of chemical filtration in air-conditioning systems in archive and library repositories has become standard practice for heritage institutions in many countries. This practice is codified in official standards with general reference to a substantial body of scientific publications on the effects of air pollutants on paper materials. In this paper we report the application of a well-established decision analysis approach elaborating an integral cost-benefit perspective to provide decision support to four European national heritage institutions confronted with dilemmas in connection to chemical air filtration. Available scientific evidence for air pollution induced damage of paper material is reviewed and weighed against financial and environmental costs of air pollution control. Exposure of paper to both indoor and outdoor generated air pollutants at typical concentration levels observed within storage areas is expected to cause minimal to no additional yellowing and embrittlement, while the costs of chemical air filtration are significant. From a cost-benefit perspective the use of chemical air filtration in typical library and archive repositories is therefore discouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents conservation and restoration treatment of a number of textual records performed at the Book and Paper Conservation Centre of the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia. Created in the mid-19th century and currently kept by the Archives of the RS, the records in question (included in the fonds AS 31) were seriously damaged mostly due to years of inappropriate storage in the past, and their content could no longer be viewed. Having inspected their condition, a decision was made to restore them using our leaf casting machine, since manual restoration of such a large number of documents would be very time consuming. Conservation-restoration treatment has improved their condition and managed to prevent further deterioration. The content has once again been made available to our users, and with proper protection we also managed to extend the life expectancy of the documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the writings of Adorno, Benjamin, and Derrida, and the films of Alain Resnais, this essay considers the construction of the subject through state-sanctioned forms of inscription - passports, for example. Such forms, traditionally speaking, are aspects of the technologies of the book - the biblion - and they indicate that 'biopolitics' merges with bibliopolitics. Indeed, the subject is a matter of 'shelf-life': it is constructed through archival forms of collection; by the bibliotekhe - the 'slot' or shelf where documents are placed. Yet peoples and texts may not fit normative taxonomies, in traditional and digital media contexts. In the context of historical diasporas, for example, we might recall Derrida's argument that, like the peoples referred to as the sans- papiers, those without state-sanctioned documents, we are all becoming 'paperless', as external memory becomes virtual. The essay is concerned, then, with what happens when the subject is no longer substantiated by traditional legal papers, but by digital files and memory chips; while it argues also that the distinction between traditional and digital media cannot be reduced to a linear history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aims of this paper were to study the biofouling and biodeterioration of photos and maps stored at Historical Archive of the Museum of La Plata (HAMP), Argentine, and two repositories of the National Archive of Cuba Republic (NARC) and to carry out the physiological characterization of the isolated fungi and bacteria. The role of the environmental microbiota in the biofouling formation was also studied. Microbial assemblages in the air were sampled by sedimentation technique while those on documents were sampled by swabbering. Biofilm formation and biofouling were monitored by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Large microbial assemblages were found at NARC archives with the prevalence of genera Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Penicillium, whereas at HAMP these values were lower, Penicillium was the only fungal genus detected. Most of the fungi degraded cellulose and produced pigments and acids, and all of the isolated bacteria had proteolytic and/or cellulolytic activity. In all cases, a higher concentration of viable bacteria than of fungi was isolated from documents. These results correlated with bacterial values detected in air at NARC repositories. However, this correlation cannot be observed at HAMP where Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces helicus (teleomorph of Penicillium) were isolated. It is the first time that the last genus is reported in documents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The goal of preventive conservation is to provide the correct maintenance of our cultural heritage in order to enrich our future. The Canadian Museum of Nature developed a risk model for preventive conservation that has proven useful in application to a Portuguese archive. This work applies this model to compare the magnitudes of specific risks estimated for this same archive collection when located in either of two pairs of storage rooms. These rooms are in two different parts of this building: two are in an older part and two are in a recent addition. It was, therefore, necessary to assess the building itself, both structurally and environmentally, as well as analyse its common human practices. In terms of the overall risk magnitude, the best room was found to be in the recent building and the worst in the older building. However, risks related to water problems were found to be higher in the new building. In this work cost-free measures and easy to implement recommendations are given in order to improve the quality of the storage rooms. A final comment on the method itself is also given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Inks and paper are the main materials and components of library and archive collections. Since the Third century B.C. there has been a continual succession of ink recipes from all over the world, with varying levels of documentation of the recipes used; however, it was only in the 19th century that Europe became the main producer and industrial leader in the discovery of new products. The aim of this study is to find out more about this last historical period, when new inks were created that had never been known or used in the past. In this study we chose four inks: they belong to documents preserved in the archive of the Superintendence Beni architettonici per il paesaggio e per il patrimonio storico artistico ed etnoantropologico (BAPPDAD) of Venice Lagoon, held in the Palazzo Ducale (Ducal Palace) of Venice. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS) and pyrolysis coupled to a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometric detector (Py–GC–MS) allowed us to obtain a qualitative characterization of organic and inorganic elements in three different ink typologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The gradual process in which the medieval commune of Dubrovnik developed into a classical city-state in the first half of the 16th century was related both to the outer and to the inner elements. Among the latter the most important role belonged to the establishment of a firm, reliable and well organised web of clerks. Since their work would have been impossible without a continuous supply of paper and parchment, the Government signed several contracts with various entrepreneurs who were undertaken to fulfil all such needs, including also the book binding. The primary sources always describe them simply as librarii. They were coming from various backgrounds, including native people and Italians, priests and laity, nobles and commoners. Although they had never formed a proper corporation, their profession enjoyed a particular status due to a relatively small, but regular income, their mutual connections (including education of apprentices) and particular professional knowledge they had, especially that of making parchment. The first decades of the 16th century witnessed to a severe restriction imposed to all civil servants, but since 1540s sources are particularly abundant with news concerning the parchment and paper supply. Therefore we traced the roots of paper from Venice and Ancona to Dubrovnik and, occasionally, to the Ottoman Empire afterwards. We are precisely informed about the prices, careers of several librarii who worked in a span of several decades and their mutual relations. Also, as there were various kinds of paper being supplied to the State offices, it is easily possible to perceive their value. Towards the end of the Republic the flourishing days gradually disappeared and 1790s brought just a single request from a local priest to learn the service of bookbinding in Rome. However, thousands of books kept today in the State Archives of Dubrovnik undoubtedly testify about the quality of the late librarii and their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the ink corrosion on handwritten documents at the Marburg University. The documents at the university were stored in barrier papers and were partially micro-filmed. The plan to digitalize jurist Carl Friedrich von Savigny's estate offered the first opportunity to display a spectrum of ink corrosion damage symptoms and to take conservation measures.

Abstract: Synthetic pattern generation is one of the strategies to overcome the curse of dimensionality, but it has its own drawbacks. Most of the synthetic pattern generation techniques take more time than simple classification. In this paper, we propose a new strategy to reduce the time and memory requirements by applying prototyping as an intermediate step in the synthetic pattern generation technique. Results show that through the proposed strategy, classification can be done much faster without compromising much in terms of classification accuracy, in fact for some cases it gives better accuracy in lesser time. The classification time and accuracy can be balanced according to available memory and computing power of a system to get the best possible results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents information on the effect of simmering on the chemical and mechanical properties of paper. Iron gall ink corrosion of paper threatens to destroy a large portion of historic manuscripts, records and drawings globally. A great deal of effort has been and continues to be, invested in studying and understanding the causes and pathways of iron gall ink corrosion of paper, and the efficacy of various conservation treatments. Among the many traditional treatments, "boiling paper" as a treatment for corroded iron gall ink documents has been used for more than 30 years 68.

A new portable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) device allows in situ non-invasive investigation of paper in order to examine some aspects of the microscopic healthy state of documents of historical and artistic interest. The apparatus has a NMR surface probe, which permits to perform most of the NMR relaxometric measurements on objects of almost every size and shape. It uses non-ionizing radio frequency electromagnetic waves and is easily transportable without hazard for people or environment. Some results obtained with this device on the pages of the Codex Major, a manuscript musical anthology that belongs to the Collectio Altaempsiana (1600–1610) of Palazzo Altaemps in Rome, are here presented. The NMR results provide indications about the spread of the deterioration process of the paper and of the corrosion effect caused by the iron-gall ink. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article studies the application of the freeze-drying process to water-damaged archival and library materials. By soaking samples for 18 hours and draining for 5 hours, reproducible soaked samples were obtained; the amount of absorbed water was 121 ± 1 % in relation to the initial dry weight. The method was reproducible, simple and economic. The freeze-drying and evaporative-drying of soaked samples resulted in the complete drying of the paper in 18 hours, without excessive damage. With regard to antique documents, especially those containing miniatures or paintings, re-conditioning of dried, brittle paper is recommended, before handling.

Presents a study which made paper sheets from a papyrus plant after pulping in order to obtain a suitable pulp for document conservation. Delignification of papyrus by the pulping processes; Details of papyrus reinforcement technique; Consolidation of brittle papyrus.