Saving endangered library collections"While historic and artistic monuments are the most visible aspects of our cultural heritage, the thoughts, ideas, and discoveries of mankind, i.e. the intellectual heritage, are recorded on such a delicate material as a piece of paper". This single sentence, taken in extenso from Anna Johanson PhD thesis reveals - in a perfectly compact way - the danger that our civilization is facing. Is it true that paper, still the main information carrier of mankind, is not durable enough? This question mark implies a need for further considerations. Let us note that the term paper covers a range of grades, some of them being permanent, others of low quality and with relatively short life span. Regardless of the type of paper, libraries and archives are obliged to preserve written cultural heritage and to provide access to it for current and future generations. Additionally, other information carriers should be taken into account. Care should be extended to film and photographic materials bearing pictorial information, as well as to magnetic media, so commonly used in our computerized world. This is the origin of a new branch of applied science termed Preservation Science, as announced in the title of the report published by the Council on Library and Information Resources in Washington D.C. in 2000. The scope of Preservation Science is to understand and to describe, in a scientific way, the deterioration of information carriers and to propose the proper counteraction measures. It can be done actively, for example by strengthening and the de-acidification of the paper or removing the corrosive dust, or passively - by choosing the optimal conditions of storage, such as humidity, temperature, and illumination. Poland experienced great losses of cultural heritage during numerous wars taking place through several centuries. This is why the idea of extensive preservation has been easily adopted in our country. The Memorial On the need of saving polish cultural heritage in library and archives collections of the 19 th and 20 th century has been written in 1997 and submitted to the Prime Minister. Thus, the emphasis was put on relatively new collection which, paradoxically, are the most endangered ones. There are two main reasons for a progressive decay of paper artefacts from the last two centuries. The first is the quality of the raw material. In mid-19 th century, wood replaced cotton as a source of cellulose for the paper industry. Although much cheaper and vastly available, wood has certain drawbacks as compared to cotton - shorter cellulose chains and high lignin content to name only the most important ones. The second cause of accelerated degradation of paper from the discussed period are acidic substances added to the paper pulp during one of the production stages. The acidity causes the breakdown of chains of cellulose, the main component of paper. This slow chemical reaction is the main cause of paper deterioration - even after decades or centuries. In principle, the remedy is simple - acids should be neutralized and the so-called alkaline reserve added. This task could be achieved by de-acidification technologies, which could operate on a mass-scale, deacidifying even up to 120 tones of paper per year in a single installation [4]. The Long Term Government Programme "Acid Paper. Mass Scale Saving of Endangered Polish Library and Archive Collections" was established by the Minister's Council on November 17 th 1999. The programme, coordinated by the National Library (Warsaw), covers in its scope the following projects:
The Jagiellonian University has been deeply involved in the programme since its very beginning. Let us point out the most important actions undertaken in Krakow.Details of these and other activities can be found at the group's web site at www.chemia.uj.edu.pl/KP. This state of affairs open a space for cooperation, especially within the framework of EC programmes. Within the 5 th Framework Programme, a network Transitional Metals in Paper (EVK4-2002-20010, abbreviation MIP) has been established for 2003-2006. The Network meetings consist of technical, plenary, and symposium parts. Up to now, three meetings were held - Ijmuiden - Newcastle (May 2003, partly on board of a ship), in Bratislava, as an extension of the conference: Wood, Pulp and Paper Technology (September 2003), and in Capellades, Spain, in a museum located at a medieval paper mill (February 2004). The up-coming 2004 meetings are scheduled in La Rochelle (July), Hague (September) and Ljubljana (November). In total, 12 meetings have been planned in the duration of the whole project, where representatives of 21 institutions from 14 countries can exchange ideas or share experiences. The MIP members come from universities (6), archives (5), research institutions (4), companies (3), libraries (2), and one museum. The Jagiellonian University has two representatives in the MIP - Prof. Andrzej Barański and dr Tomasz Łojewski from the Faculty of Chemistry. In Spain, during the one-day symposium in Capellades, three presentations from Krakow were delivered: "Acid hydrolysis - an overview" and "The Polish Research Programme on Paper Preservation" (A. Barański), and "Neschen deacidification treatment - a users report" (T. Łojewski). A. Barański has been also chosen as the co-chairman of the first theme of MIP. The most essential aim of the Multi-year Programme Acid Paper is to bring de-acidification technology to Poland. The purchase of Neschen C 900 equipment is only a prelude, as it could treat single sheets of paper only and thus cannot serve the problem of acidic books and other binded materials. On the world scale, this matter is very dynamic. New technologies of deacidification are emerging and other technologies are dying. The International Meeting in Canada, "The Status and Future of Mass Deacidification", was held in Ottawa in February 2003. There were 40 or so participants, and 4 technologies were presented. Two presentations from Poland were delivered: "Mass deacidification policy in Poland" (A. Barański), "Acidic books in Polish collections" (T. Łojewski). Summarizing the activity just outlined is very simple. The international events mentioned above enabled us to get in touch with the Preservation Science research community, libraries and archives management and companies supplying deacidification technologies. The knowledge gained, and the personal ties established, are helpful during numerous meetings and discussions (here in Poland and abroad) aimed at elaborating a strategy concerning saving the endangered library and archival collections.
Professor Andrzej Barański, PhD Faculty of Chemistry and Regional Laboratory of Physicochemical Analyses and Structural Research, JU
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