According to John Baty, he’s got a dream job: working side by side with conservators in a book and paper lab that bridges the gap between scientific analysis and bench work. You might call it practical science, or treatment-driven analysis. In either case, Baty argues that the Heritage Science for Conservation Laboratory–part of the Department of Conservation and Preservation in the Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University–is a model the rest of us should follow. Plus, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded lab has developed some cool toys we can use in our own paper-based research.
For Baty, the collaboration between chemists and conservators is key. (How’s that for alliteration?) This meeting of the minds has led the HSC Lab from fundamental research into the degradation mechanisms for cellulose to the production of tools that can help other conservators and conservation scientists in their work–particularly if they are engaged in studies that make use of accelerated aging. During his talk, Baty introduced three of these tools and the data that support their usefulness.
The first technology he discussed was the range of common-ion effect buffers that can be used to maintain a given pH in paper. These buffers, which take advantage of the equilibrium between a weak acid and its conjugate base, establish a narrow pH range that resists change, even after accelerated aging. Research at the HSC suggests that phosphate buffers added to paper remain effective after 42 days of accelerated aging, even at higher temperatures. In aging studies, these buffers can be used to minimize the number of variables acting on the test papers as they age. In theory, such buffers could also be used to maintain a pH range that would slow the deterioration of ir0n-gall ink or prevent color shifts in pH-sensitive dyes and pigments.
The HSC has also developed a new vessel for accelerated aging, after noticing hairline cracks and other failures in the vessels currently in use. The new closed tube, which features a glass-on-glass seal, was developed in collaboration with conservator Bill Minter. It can withstand high pressures without losing moisture, and because it has no gaskets, its contents cannot be contaminated by residual polymer chemistry or offgassing from faulty seals.
Finally, Baty introduced a calibration kit that will allow scientists and conservators to calibrate their X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) or Near Infrared (NIR) spectrometers for nondestructive paper analysis. The kit contains paper targets uniformly coated with specific salt concentrations.