The Vespiary Book Binding & Book Conservation

My kind coworker, Kate, has sent me a photo of us presenters from Thursday’s MLA workshop. Also, check the nasty powdery residue flaking off the old book tape! Can you believe Gaylord Supply co. is still selling this stuff? That lovely smell of books nesting on their shelves? To most denizens of bibliotheques, just a lovely bit of olfactory ambiance. But it seems like some researchers at the University of Cambridge are delving deeper into those organic compounds in order to jump on books that are starting to actively decay. It seems this technique (Thermal Volatilisation Analysis) was developed back in the 60s, but has languished until now.