Mass Deacidification: Update from Library of Congress

Over the past two years, the Library of Congress has continued to 
enhance and encourage the development of mass deacidification 
technologies through a two-part Action Plan.  Under Phase A of the 
plan, the Library pursued refinement of the diethyl zinc (DEZ) 
process.  Phase B permitted the Library to offer a program of 
evaluation and testing to other promising deacidification 
technologies; under this provision, Preservation Technologies, 
Inc. (PTI) of Pittsburgh asked the library to evaluate its 
Bookkeeper deacidification process.  With the DEZ process, the 
Library conducted a series of planned tests in the Akzo Chemicals 
deacidification plant in Texas and succeeded in eliminating 
process-related problems that were experienced earlier with the 
DEZ technology.  However, Akzo Chemicals withdrew from the 
deacidification business and terminated its DEZ license with the 
U.S. Commerce Department effective September 1994.  

Under the second phase of the Library's Action Plan, an evaluation 
team studied the Bookkeeper deacidification process.  The team 
concluded that the Bookkeeper technology has the potential to meet 
the Library's technical requirements for mass deacidification.  
Introduction of new Bookkeeper equipment and a limited contract to 
treat 600 additional test books, led to the development of a 
second deacidification Action Plan for LC, consisting of two 
phases that will run concurrently for two years (1995-97).  

The new Action Plan supports further process enhancements and an 
increase in the scale of the use of the Bookkeeper technology.  In 
this part of the plan, the Library will use Bookkeeper to 
deacidify approximately 36,000 volumes per year for two years.  
Simultaneously, the Library will encourage and evaluate other 
competing technologies that can demonstrate a potential to meet or 
exceed the Library's deacidification requirements (complete 
deacidification, adequate alkaline reserve, an increase in the 
life of paper by at least three times its normal expectancy) 
without damage to collections.  In this context, the Library 
reports that a domestic company has requested extensive 
information about the DEZ process, with a view toward determining 
its economic viability now that the process is perfected.

The Library's new two-year Action Plan reflects a determination to 
support the active development of mass deacidification 
technologies.  Reports on the results of research conducted during 
the previous two years are available from Kenneth Harris, 
Preservation Projects Director, Preservation Directorate, Library 
of Congress, LM-G21, Washington, DC 20540-4500 (KHAR@LOC.GOV).  
Information about the Library's evaluation and testing of both 
programs is also available on the Internet through LC's Gopher 
(Marvel.loc.gov).