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This article reports on the signing into law of PL 101-423 by U.S. President George Bush on October 12, 1990, making it the official policy of the U.S. that federal records, books, and publications of enduring value be produced on acid-free permanent papers. Under the auspices of the law, the Librarian of the Congress, the Archivist of the United States, and the Public Printer shall jointly monitor the federal government's progress in implementing the national policy. Vice chair of the Joint Committee on the Library, Senator Claiborne Pell declared that the law could result in a net reduction of costs to the government, in that the deacidification of government materials is setting the U.S. an estimate savings of $100 million. Several Library Congress publications are already printed on acid-free paper.

Discusses how the chemistry of paper production is shifting from acid to alkaline, according to a report from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York at Syracuse. Reasons for such a dramatic change in the paper industry; Profitable aspect of making alkaline paper; Way that alkaline paper causes less corrosion of machinery and office equipment, and is more permanent.