The Deterioration of Newsprint and Implications for Its Preservation

Abstract

Much of the information we have about history, science, culture, and civilization for the last 500 years is stored in paper-based formats. Unfortunately, changes in the technology of papermaking in the 19th century rendered the survival of much of the recorded information of a hundred year period problematic. As its use spread in Europe from the late 1400s, paper was traditionally prepared from rag fibers of cotton or linen. Such paper was quite stable, and many books and documents not subjected to physical or environmental abuse have survived in quite good condition. The demand for paper eventually exceeded the supply of rags, and the use of other sources of cellulosic fibers such as straw and grasses was explored. It was not until the late 19th century, however, with the development of mechanical equipment and chemical processes capable of converting wood to pulp that the most abundant source of cellulose could be exploited. Decades later, the relative impermanence of paper produced by

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