Caring For: Paper and Books
CCI has a variety of print and online resources to help with the care and conservation of paper and books.
Basic Care
The following links to basic information of a general nature for the care and conservation of paper and books.
CCI Notes
CCI Notes deal with topics of interest to those who care for cultural objects. Intended for a broad audience, CCI Notes offer practical advice about issues and questions related to the care, handling, and storage of cultural objects. Many CCI Notes are illustrated, and provide bibliographies.
- CCI Notes 1/6 Time Capsules (1995)
- CCI Notes 11/1 Making Protective Enclosures for Books and Paper Artifacts (1996)
- CCI Notes 11/10 Encapsulation (1995)
- CCI Notes 11/2 Storing Works on Paper (1995)
- CCI Notes 11/3 Glazing Materials for Framing Works on Paper (1996)
- CCI Notes 11/4 Wheat Starch Paste (1993)
- CCI Notes 11/5 Matting Works on Paper (1997)
- CCI Notes 11/6 Removing Paper Artifacts from Their Frames (1993)
- CCI Notes 11/7 Basic Care of Books (1995)
- CCI Notes 11/8 Display Methods for Books (1994)
- CCI Notes 11/9 Framing Works of Art on Paper (1995)
- CCI Notes 16/4 Care of Black-and-White Photographic Prints (2007)
- CCI Notes 16/5 Care of Colour Photographic Materials (2007)
- CCI Notes 16/6 Processing contemporary black-and-white photographic films and papers for maximum permanence (2007)
- CCI Notes 3/4 Psocids or "Book Lice": a Warning of Dampness (1998)
CCI Technical Bulletins and Other Print Publications
Technical Bulletins provide detailed information of a specialized technical nature about selected conservation and care-of-collections topics, current techniques and principles of conservation of use to curators and conservators of cultural artifacts.
- TB # 22 The Stability of Photocopied and Laser-printed Documents and Images: General Guidelines
- TB # 23 Guidelines for Humidity and Temperature for Canadian Archives
- TB #11 Dry Methods for Surface Cleaning of Paper
- TB #18 Fire Prevention Programs for Museums
- TB #24 Water Quality for Treatment of Paper and Textiles
- TB #26 Mould Prevention and Collection Recovery: Guidelines for Heritage Collections
- TB #28 Guidelines for pH Measurement in Conservation
- TB #29 Combatting Pests of Cultural Property
Browse or buy other CCI Publications.
Additional CCI links and information that may be relevant to the care and conservation of paper and books.
- A New Canadian Standard for Permanent Paper
- Before & After Gallery: Conservation Treatment of a Large Map
- Before & After Gallery: To Treat or Not to Treat – That is the Question
- Disaster Relief at the Hindu Samaj Temple
- Environmental Guidelines for Museums - Temperature and Relative Humidity (RH)
- Guidelines for Pollutant Concentrations in Museums
- Guild, Sherry Mould growth in heritage collections. CCI Newsletter, 32 (November 2003), pp. 4-5.
- Protecting Canadian archival heritage from the hazards of iron gall ink
- Ten Agents of Deterioration
- The Parylene Project
Other heritage or conservation institutions also offer useful advice or helpful information that may be relevant to the care and conservation of paper and books. These sites are external to CCI.
- 19/1 What makes a Book Rare? 1993
- 19/14 Judging Permanence for Reformatting Projects: Paper and Inks 1995
- 19/15 Storing Archival Paper-Based Materials 1996
- 19/16 Housing Archival Paper-Based Materials 1996
- 19/17 Handling Archival Documents and Manuscripts 1996
- 19/18 How to Care for Bound Archival Materials 1996
- 19/2 Care and Security of Rare Books 1993
- 19/20 Care of Archival Digital and Magnetic Media 1996
- 19/23 A Phase Box for the Protection of Books 2001
- 19/24 How to Preserve Acidic Wood Pulp Paper 2001
- 19/25 Planning a Microfilming Project for Preservation and Access 2008
- 19/3 Use and Handling of Rare Books 1993
- 19/4 Archives: Preservation Through Photocopying 1993
- 19/5 Removing Original Fasteners from Historic Documents 1993
- 19/6 Attachments for Multi-Page Historic Documents 1993
- 19/7 Archives: Reference Photocopying 1993
- 19/8 Preservation of Magnetic Media 1993
- 19/9 Caring for Blueprints and Cyanotypes 1995
- AIC - Paper Conservation Catalogue
- AIC- Caring for Your Treasures
- Documents and Art on Paper
- How to Protect Your Books
- Image Permanence Institute - The Archival Advisor
- Looking at Paper: Evidence and Interpretation / Symposium Proceedings Postprints
- Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE): Ink Corrosion Website Booklets included (in pdf form):
- Northeast Document Conservation Center - Preservation Leaflets
- Resources for Private and Family Collections
Still need help with the care and conservation of heritage objects?
Explore CCI’s Tools for things like measuring light damage, maintaining relative temperature and humidity, packing and shipping artifacts appropriately, and dealing with waterlogged wood.
If you are a heritage institution or heritage professional, you can also request a service, register for training, or contact CCI for conservation advice or assistance. CCI’s mandate is to support the Canadian heritage community in preserving Canada’s heritage collections so they can be accessed by current and future generations.
Members of the general public are encouraged to seek advice from conservators for the care of personal objects. Appraisers can help you with questions concerning the value of your personal objects.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of a personal object, you can contact your local museum. The Canadian Museums Association has an online list of museums across Canada searchable by name or province.
