Centuries of Cellulose: Lessons Learned from the Molecular Analysis of Cellulose in Aged Paper Collections
August 29, 2017
Video
About the Lecture
Naturally aged book papers in preparation for analysis, with the molecular structure of cellulose shown in inset
In the mid-1900s, paper chemist William J. Barrow undertook an ambitious study of 1,000 books printed from the 16th through 20th centuries, meticulously measuring their chemical and physical properties and offering systematic predictions of paper aging and permanence. These same test books now reside in the Library of Congress’s Center for the Library’s Analytical Scientific Samples. This talk will present results using advancements in scientific tools to reassess and measure Barrow’s same sample books anew. In particular, new micro-invasive tools provide the ability to quantify the degradation effects of aging, enabling new insights and mathematical methods for minimally-destructive paper material analysis.
About the Speaker
Dr. Andrew Davis (Chemist, Preservation Research and Testing Division) received a PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014. He subsequently worked at 3M developing adhesive chemistry and photochemical processes. Andrew came to the Library of Congress in 2016.
