AIC's 45th Annual Meeting

Ultrasonically-welded encapsulation of documents with biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate, commonly called by the commercial names of Mylar®or Melinex®, is a frequently employed treatment in library and archive collections. Encapsulation is used to reinforce a document physically and is used as a long-term storage solution. The transport of acids through this barrier is of interest, especially in light of using this treatment for long-term storage of an acid containing document, i.e. newspaper, wood-pulp paper document, among others. The transport of acid through the encapsulation barrier impacts surrounding media, while trapping this acid within the encapsulation can accelerate deterioration. Prediction of the rate of acid transport will allow conservators to make informed choices about housing and long-term storage conditions. This research studies the kinetics of acid transport through the encapsulation, providing a rate and direction of transport of acids through the encapsulation.