# Centuries of Cellulose: Lessons Learned from the Molecular Analysis of Cellulose in Aged Paper Collections

Andrew Davis discussed the work of 20th-centry paper chemist William J. Barrow, whoundertook 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 Center for the Library's Analytical Scientific Samples in the Library of Congress. This talk presented 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.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2017
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Education, Science
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021690594/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021690594?play=1)