Volume 2, Number 1
Apr 1989

A Basic Reading List on Permanence of Paper

1. "Environmental Factors Affecting the Permanence of Library Materials," by Carl J Wessel. In Deterioration and Preservation of Library Materials, the 34th Annual Conference of the Graduate Library School, August 4-6, 1969. Howard W. Winger and Richard Daniel Smith, eds. (University of Chicago Studies in Library Science) University of Chicago Press, 5801 Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637-1496. Originally published in Library Quarterly, Jan. 1970. The Wessel paper is on P. 39-84. Comprehensive; clear without oversimplification.

2. "The Nature of Paper," by Bertie L. Browning. From the above volume, p. 18-38. Covers the origin, materials, chemistry, manufacture, properties, and stability (permanence) of paper.

3. "New Approaches to Preservation," by Richard Daniel Smith. Pages 139-171 in the above volume, followed by a Discussion by William K. Wilson on p. 171-175. 107 refs. A good introduction to the chemistry of deacidification, especially by the Wei T'o method.

4. "The Story of Permanent /Durable Book-Paper 1115-1970," by Verner Clapp. Scholarly Publishing 2 (1971): 10724, 229-45, 353-67. Reprinted under the same title, in Restaurator Supplement 3, 1972; 51 pp. A classic work, very well researched and written; includes an accurate and comprehensive summary of Barrow's research.

5. "A Review of Paper Quality and Paper Chemistry," by John C. Williams. Library Trends Fall 1981, p. 203-224.

6. Book Longevity: Reports of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity. 1982. Council m Library Resources, 1785 Massachusetts Ave., Washington, DC 20036. 19 pp. Reprinted from the May 29, 1981 and July 2, 1982, issues of Publishers' Weekly. Covers both paper and bindings; the Report on Book Paper is on pp. 7-14.

7. "Preservation of Libraries and Archives," by Chandru J. Shahani and William K. Wilson. American Scientist 75, May-June 1987, p. 240-251. Informative, accurate, readable.

8. Seven publications by staff of the W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory, published by the Virginia State Library.

All of them are in the series "Virginia State Library Publications" (VSLP) and four are also in the series "Permanence/Durability of the Book (PDB).

Permanence/Durability of the Book: A Two-Year Research Program. 1963. VSLP 1.
Test Data of Naturally Aged Papers. 1964. VSLP 2, PDB 2.
Strength and Other Characteristics of Book Papers 1800-1899. 1967. VSLP 5, PDB 5.
Spot Testing for Unstable Modern Book and Record Papers. 1969. VSLP 6, PDB 6.
Physical and Chemical Properties of Book Papers, 15 071949. 1974. VSLP 7, PDB 7.
Deterioration of Book Stock: Causes and Remedies: Two Studies on the Permanence of Book Paper, Conducted by W. J. Barrow. Edited by Randolph W. Church. 1959. VSLP 10.
The Manufacture and Testing of Durable Book Papers, Based on the Investigations of W. J. Barrow. Edited by Randolph W. Church. 1960. VSLP 13.

All but # 4 and 8 are available in photocopy (with permission of original publisher) from the Abbey Publications Office, at 25�/page, except for #5 and 6, which are about 15�/page. The booklets listed in #8 are all out of print, unfortunately-

Paper Directories & Catalogs

Lockwood-Post's Directory of the Pulp, Paper and Allied Trades. Annual; 1000 pages. The main source for information about paper companies, mills and suppliers. Many features, including who makes each grade of paper or board; paper merchants, by area; converters, by area, with products; who buys what types of waste paper; and lots of addresses and telephone numbers. $117 from Miller Freemen Publications, 370 Lexington Ave., 17th Floor, New York, NY 10017 (212/683-9294).

Walden's Paper Catalog is most useful for its state by state, city by city list of distributors (merchants) for each paper company. Also listed under the company's name are the address, phone, sales offices, and brand names and grades (e.g. endleaf papers) of papers sold by each company under their own name (mill brands). Papers are also listed by grade, grouped by price, in the yellow section. $40 per year from Walden-Mott Corp., 475 Kinderkamack Rd., Oradell, NJ 07649 (201/261-2630). Updated twice yearly.

The Competitive Grade Finder is handy for its fine breakdown of papers by grade and quality, listing both private and mill brands and referring to sources for ordering them. It also lists papers that meet the various JCP specs. $25 from Grade Finders Inc., PO Box 944, Exton, PA 19341 (215/524-7070).

The coverage of these three books overlaps s t, necessarily. For instance, the Grade Finder has an alphabetic list of companies (some of which have personnel and brands listed under the company's name), with their addresses, but it does not cover the whole paper industry like Lockwood-Post's does, and it does not give as much information for each company. Both the Grade Finder and Walden's have sections in which a selected number of manufacturers list their papers and give details about them.