Abstract
Cellulose acetate (CA) lamination, a technique to strengthen documents by sealing them between sheets of thermoplastic film, was widespread from the 1930s to the 1990s. Its use gradually stopped in the 1980s amid concerns about the physical and chemical instability of the laminate and the degradation risks posed to the treated document. Despite concerns about CA lamination, no coordinated effort has taken place to establish the various materials and techniques used in cellulose acetate laminations or to determine the number and present condition of CA laminated documents in US collections. In this paper, we review the chemistry and methods used in CA lamination. We then report results of a survey of 52 US institutions with significant laminated collections. We find that at least 2.9 million laminated documents exist in US collections, and most of those documents are observed to be in stable condition. A majority of the institutions used cellulose diacetate (CDA) as the laminating film and as few as 0.6% CDA laminated documents have been delaminated. The results should aid institutions in determining the cost benefit in the management of these significant collections.
Zusammenfassung
Celluloseacetat-Laminierung: Literaturübersicht und Umfrage in Archiven und Sammlungen in den USA
Bei der Celluloseacetat(CA)-Laminierung wurden Dokumente zwischen thermoplastischen Folien versiegelt, um sie dadurch zu verstärken. Die Technik war von den 1930er bis zu den 1990er Jahren weit verbreitet. Allerdings führten Zweifel an der physikalischen und chemischen Stabilität des Laminats und Untersuchungen zu Risiken für die behandelten Dokumente in den 1980er Jahren zu einer schrittweisen Einstellung der Laminierung. Trotz Bedenken an der CA-Laminierung wurde bislang kein koordinierter Versuch zur systematischen Beschreibung der verschiedenen Materialien und Techniken, die dabei zum Einsatz kamen, unternommen. Auch gibt es keine Schätzungen, in welchem Umfang Dokumente in Sammlungen in den USA laminiert wurden und in welchem Zustand sich diese befinden. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag werden Materialien und Methoden der CA-Laminierung beschrieben und die Ergebnisse einer Befragung von 52 Institutionen in den USA, in deren Sammlungen sich eine große Anzahl an laminierten Dokumenten befinden, zusammengefasst. Laut unserer Studie existieren ca. 2,9 Mio. laminierte Dokumente in Sammlungen in den USA, wobei sich die meisten dieser Dokumente in einem stabilen Zustand befinden. Ein Großteil der Institutionen verwendete Cellulosediacetat (CDA) als Laminierfolie, und nur 0,6% CDA-laminierte Dokumente wurden bis zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt delaminiert. Die Ergebnisse der Studie können Institutionen im Umgang mit laminierten Sammlungsbeständen und bei damit verbundenen Kosten-Nutzen Rechnungen unterstützen.
Résumé
Laminage à base d’acétate de cellulose: examen de la littérature et vue d’ensemble des collections à base de documents papier aux États-Unis
Le laminage à base d‘acétate de cellulose, une technique de renforcement des documents par scellement entre des feuilles de film thermoplastique, a été généralisée entre 1930 et 1990. Son utilisation a progressivement cessé dans les années 1980 à cause des préoccupations au sujet de l‘instabilité physique et chimique du stratifié et des risques de dégradation du document traité. Malgré les inquiétudes concernant le laminage à base de cellulose d‘acétate, aucun effort coordonné n’a eu lieu pour établir une vue d’ensemble des différents matériaux et techniques utilisés pour le laminage à base de cellulose d‘acétate ni pour déterminer le nombre et l‘état actuel des documents stratifiées à l’acétate de Cellulose dans des collections américaines. Dans cet article, nous examinons la chimie et les méthodes utilisées pour le laminage à base de cellulose d‘acétate. Nous rendons compte ensuite des résultats d‘un sondage dans cinquante-deux institutions des États-Unis possédant d’importantes collections de documents laminés. Nous constatons qu’au moins 2,9 millions de documents laminés existent dans les collections américaines et que la plupart de ces documents sont dans un état stable. La majorité des institutions ont utilisé du diacétate de cellulose comme film de laminage et que seulement 0,6% des documents laminés avec du diacétate de cellulose ont été délaminés. Les résultats de cette étude devraient aider les établissements dans leur analyse coût/bénéfices pour la gestion de ces importantes collections.
About the authors
Molly McGath, PhD, research fellow at the Freer Gallery of Art, did her doctoral research on the deterioration mechanisms of cellulose acetate in the presence of triphenyl phosphate plasticizer at the Smithsonian Institution Museum Conservation Institute. She holds a materials science and engineering degree from the University of Arizona. She researched cellulose acetate lamination as an Andrew W. Mellon post-doctoral fellow within the Heritage Science for Conservation group at Johns Hopkins University; the results of this research are contained within this paper.
Sonja Jordan-Mowery established the Department of Conservation and Preservation at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana in 1986. From 1999 through 2003, she served as Division Chief for Special Collections and Preservation at the Harold Washington Library, Chicago. She was hired as Director of Conservation and Preservation for the Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University in 2000. With assistance from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, she founded Heritage Science for Conservation (HSC) in 2008 and served as its PI. In 2015, she retired from Johns Hopkins to dedicate more time to research, consulting, and her private conservation practice.
Mark Pollei is acting Director of the Department of Conservation and Preservation at the Sheridan Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins University. For nearly 20 years he has been involved with book and paper conservation in academic institutions. He completed bookbinding training the North Bennet Street School prior to completing successful internships at the Library of Congress and the Houghton Library. From 1997 to 2012 he served as Department Chair of the book and paper conservation of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
Steven Heslip is the Director of User Experience at the Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries and Museums. In this role, Heslip provides leadership in the development and application of user-centered approaches to the design of services. He conducts user research to identify and understand stakeholders’ needs, and introduces evidence-based decision making in the development of service prototypes. His work includes emphases on digital services, human-to-human services, and spaces as services. He holds a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
John Baty, PhD, Assistant Research Professor and Heritage Science for Conservation Scientist, is appointed to the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Conservation & Preservation at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). At JHU, Baty teaches, conducts conservation research, advises students and fellows, and develops partnerships with conservators, scientists, engineers, and industry. He has been a Research Assistant at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, a Research Chemist at Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc., and a Research Chemist at the National Archives and Records Administration. He holds a PhD in paper science from the University of Manchester in the UK.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for funding this research. We are grateful to Vicki Lee at the Maryland State Archives; Sarah Koonts and Emily Rainwater at the North Carolina State Archives; and Paulette Schwarting, Stacy Rusch and E. Lee Shepard the Virginia State Library for beta-testing the survey and allowing us to visit their collections. We thank Mike Reese of the Sheridan Libraries and University Museums, Johns Hopkins University for his input on the survey process. We thank Patricia McGuiggan for extensive editing. We thank the conservators and conservation scientists of the Department of Conservation & Preservation, the Sheridan Libraries and University Museums, Johns Hopkins University.
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