[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 141 (Monday, October 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2111-E2112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E2111]]



              THE BOOKKEEPER BOOK DEACIDIFICATION PROCESS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES H. TAYLOR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 18, 1999

  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, the Appropriations 
Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch of both the House of 
Representatives and the Senate have actively supported for over two 
decades the Library of Congress' efforts to develop new paper 
preservation technologies aimed at ending the ``brittle book'' problem. 
Our joint objective has been to prevent and slow down the 
disintegration of ``the written word'' in the nation's libraries and 
archives due to the acids in modern books and manuscripts. The attached 
article from the Pittsburgh Business Times & Journal, dated April 2, 
1999, describes the new ``Bookkeeper'' technology that chemically 
neutralizes these damaging acids in paper. Bookkeeper, with research, 
development and demonstration assistance from the Library of Congress, 
has perfected both a ``mass'' process for library books as well as 
consumer products that can be used for smaller collections.
  Mass deacidification makes it possible to preserve library books and 
manuscripts in their original format for hundreds of years, rather than 
allowing these precious materials to become brittle and unusable. It is 
a pleasure to recognize the efforts of the Library of Congress and 
Preservation Technologies Inc., the Pittsburgh-area company that owns 
the Bookkeeper process. They have worked collaboratively and 
energetically to save already nearly a quarter of a million Library of 
Congress books so they will be available for Congress and America's 
citizens to use for many more generations. It should be noted that this 
American process is now being used by scores of other institutions in 
the U.S. and Europe and that several governments and companies are 
still actively working on related processes to save endangered, at-risk 
cultural materials.
  James Burd, president of Preservation Technologies, said the product 
solves a perplexing problem facing scrapbook enthusiasts. ``They tell 
you not to put anything acidic in a memory book'' he said. ``They don't 
tell you what to do if you have something on acid paper, but you want 
to keep it.''
  The need to use acid-free paper is a message that can't be avoided at 
a craft or scrapbook store. Making scrapbooks is a $3 billion annual 
business, part of the $20 billion craft industry, according to Mr. 
Burd.
  Archival Mist is, in essence, an antacid for paper. A powder, 
magnesium oxide, that resembles crushed Tums, is suspended, not 
dissolved, in an expensive inert liquid. The liquid evaporates within a 
minute, even if a page is drenched. It is said to be safe for use on 
virtually anything. The Library of Congress tested it on thousands of 
papers, inks, glues and book covers.
  But the high cost of the liquid, which is also used as a coolant 
poured over super computing chips, pushes the suggested retail price 
for Archival Mist to $40 for the 5.3 ounce bottle.
  Mr. Burd knows that's not the optimum selling point for a retail 
product no larger than a can of deodorant.
  ``Everybody said $20 is the magic price point,'' Mr. Burd said. ``But 
there are dollars in the bottle. The chemistry is very expensive.''
  A bottle of Archival Mist can treat about 40 standard sheets of 
paper. Since most items put in a scrapbook are much smaller, such as a 
newspaper wedding announcement, Mr. Burd said deacidification costs 
about 20 to 25 cents per item.
  Ms. Higgins is convinced serious scrapbookers will spend the money.
  ``The thing about the $40 price is that one bottle contains enough to 
treat 300 typical clippings,'' she said. ``Really, if we can convince 
people that this is one of the best investments you can make in 
scrapbooking, it's not too much.''
  It certainly isn't much compared with what the government spent 
trying to solve the problem. Charged with keeping books forever and 
faced with decaying acidic collections, the Library of Congress 
launched an all-out attack on acid in the 1980's.
  After the government spent 15 years and more than $30 million 
developing a gas-based antacid to treat a chamber full of books, the 
chemical company it had working on the project gave up. Though most of 
the technique's kinks were worked out, it brought challenges and risks 
that Bookkeeper does not. Once, a chemical reaction caused a major fire 
at a laboratory working with the gaseous mixture.
  Several other companies developed options based on dissolving an 
antacid in a liquid. But they required using more volatile liquids and 
they damaged some books.
  Richard Spatz had led the development of the first generation of 
Bookkeeper as a Koppers Industries, Inc. executive, receiving a patent 
in 1985. After his 1988 retirement, he bought the patent for 
Bookkeeper, which at the time used freon, and tried to sell the idea to 
the Library of Congress. But library officials didn't become interested 
until they had exhausted their own research's possibilities.

      [From the Pittsburgh Business Times & Journal, Apr. 2, 1999]

                         What's a Memory Worth?

                            (By Ethan Lott)

       Archival Mist can preserve scrapbook pages, but will the 
     price reduce its mass market appeal?
       The quick explanation of Archival Mist is that it preserves 
     memories.
       The how it works, why it's important and why someone should 
     shell out $40 for a 5.3-ounce bottle requires an explanation 
     that starts in the mid-1980s and covers Chemistry 101 and 
     millions of dollars in government research.
       This complexity is one reason why marketing Archival Mist 
     presents a challenge.
       So Preservation Technologies, the company launching 
     Archival Mist as its first retail product, is turning to a 
     market that understands the basic need to use acid-free 
     paperscrapbook hobbyists and craft store regulars.
       Archival Mist was unveiled in February at the Hobby 
     Industry Associations trade show in Dallas. Shipments to 
     about 100 stores began two weeks ago. Last week, the company 
     finalized its order with the nation's largest craft chain, 
     Michaels Stores Inc., and started shipping to its 516 stores 
     this week.
       Patrons of craft stores are more likely to already know 
     that acidic paper becomes brittle as it ages. That's why some 
     old books have pages that fall apart. Likewise, newspaper 
     clippings, report cards and birth announcements may not stand 
     the test of time in that old scrapbook in the attic.
       Archival Mist makes any paper it touches non-acidic. It is 
     the retail version of the Bookkeeper solution Preservation 
     Technologies uses to save aging library books.
       The company is in the midst of its second major contract 
     with the Library of Congress, for which it is treating 
     hundreds of thousands of aging books. After a dip in its pool 
     of special liquid, acid in the book is neutralized. Within 
     hours, the book is dry and ready to be shipped back to 
     Washington.
       Archival Mist allows consumers to do the same thing, page 
     by page, with a hand-held spray bottle. Get it?
       Becky Higgins, creative editor of Creating Keepsakes 
     Scrapbook Magazine, sure does. She's been trying out Archival 
     Mist and gives it a glowing endorsement.
       ``I use it a lot,'' Ms. Higgins said. ``Scrapbooking has 
     become a fun hobby. A lot of scrapbookers put together these 
     gorgeous pages, but they won't last for generations because 
     they include products that aren't acid free.''
       Finally, the library took a look at Bookkeeper. After 
     testing the product for 18 months, the library gave 
     Preservation Technologies a $1 million test contract in 1995. 
     The company treated 90,000 books under that contract, then in 
     1997 received a four-year, $3 million contract to treat up to 
     300,000 books.
       Ken Harris, preservation projects director at the Library 
     of Congress, said the company's technology was the right 
     solution at the right time.
       ``Aside from the fact that it works and works well, it 
     doesn't have all these negative side effects,'' Mr. Harris 
     said. ``The whole library community gives testimony to the 
     Bookkeeper process by awarding contracts.''
       Mr. Burd said the second contract with the Library of 
     Congress is what finally gave the company credibility in the 
     eyes of the library community. Though the Library of Congress 
     is still the company's biggest customer, about 30 major 
     research libraries, plus archive collection holders 
     worldwide, have contracts with Preservation Technologies.
       Getting into the spray market was not an entirely new idea 
     for the company. It already sells Bookkeeper as a spray to 
     professionals who want to test it on their own or treat items 
     too large or brittle to ship to Cranberry Township.
       Though he wouldn't give overall company revenue figures, 
     Mr. Burd said Bookkeeper spray currently represents about 10 
     percent of the company's business.

[[Page E2112]]

       He said the total spray business could account for 25 
     percent of revenue as Archival Mist sales grow.
       Until more stores carry Archival Mist, the company will 
     ship orders from Cranberry or direct consumers to the nearest 
     retail store carrying the product. Information can be found 
     at the company's Web site--www.ptlp.com.



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