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Accelerated Aging of Paper: Can it Really Foretell the Permanence of Paper

Research in Accelerated Aging of Paper

Research on accelerated aging is one of the primary interests at the Library of Congress. Several investigations have been in progress at the Swedish Institute of Pulp and Paper Research (Frojd, 1992). Tommy Iversen is comparing natural and artificial aging processes in order to assess the relevance of artificial aging. Petter Kolseth is engaged in a critical review and evaluation of accelerated aging methods. He has compared aging of paper under several temperature and relative humidity condition combinations, including 80°C/65% RH, 90°C/50% RH and 90°C/65% RH.

Several other workers have an active research interest in the investigation of artificial aging, including David Erhardt at the Conservation Analytical Laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution, Helen Burgess and Klaus Hendriks at the Canadian Conservation Institute and Paul Whitmore at the Carnegie Mellon Institute remain actively interested in this area. This is certainly not an exhaustive list of all the laboratories with an active interest in this field of investigation. Thus, much is happening in this area, and we may yet see significant advances over the next few years.

Table of Contents - Introduction - Status of Accelerated Aging of Paper - Research in Accelerated Aging of Paper - Comparison of Accelerated Aging of Paper in Stacks and Sheets - Aging of Paper Sealed within Polyester Film - Inadequacy of Single Sheet Accelerated Aging Methods - Accelerated Aging within Sealed Enclosures - Comparison of Accelerated Aging Methods - Accelerated Aging under Light -Measurement of Rates of Degradation - Conclusion - References - Supporting Documents