Paper Conservation

Statement of Purpose

Paper is frequently assisting specimens of natural history collections. It can be found in herbaria as a support and mounting material, and in all natural history collections in labels, tags, and many metadata documents. Paper and paper-based products are used for storage (wrapping papers, cardboard boxes). It is also one of the favorite materials used by conservators during treatment (i.e., for the structural reinforcement, loss compensation). It can be used to fill the loss not only in paper but also other materials such as leather and fur. Therefore it's essential for people working with natural history collections to know the fundamental properties of paper and patterns of its degradation. This section will also cover the overview of paper conservation methods.