William James Barrow (December 11, 1904 – August 25, 1967) was an American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

conservator, and a pioneer of library and archives conservation. He introduced the field of conservation to paper deacidification through alkalization.

Overview

An American document restorer and former director of the W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory located in Richmond, Virginia, where he became highly recognized for his pioneering achievements in the preservation and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

historical documents Historical documents are original documents that contain important historical information about a person, place, or event and can thus serve as primary sources as important ingredients of the historical methodology. Significant historical documen ...

.---. (06/02/2000) ''Abstract. W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory Records, 1932-1978''. Virginia Historical Society, Department of Manuscripts and Archives. (accessed January 25, 2011) He was an innovator and entrepreneur. Barrow was at one time considered by many authorities to be the leading independent scientific center for research into paper and the deterioration of paper. William J. Barrow developed the first practical roller-type laminator.Kniffel, Sullivan, McCormick, Edith. (1999)''"100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th Century"'', p. 38. American Libraries, 30-11: Research Libraries With this device, Barrow developed a process for laminating brittle documents between tissue and cellulose acetate film, as well as a highly effective means of deacidifying paper. He demonstrated the facts of paper stability over the past four centuries and developed a durable paper having a high degree of permanence. Barrow was also a part of a team of paper manufacturers, partially supported by the paper industry, which developed a large-scale process to manufacture alkaline or permanent-durable paper from wood fiber. He was also involved in other investigations connected with paper and ink for a period of more than 30 years, and was probably the most important single contributor to the knowledge of methods of achieving permanence and durability of archival materials. William Barrow had a thorough knowledge of both

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and

archival An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

practices, a long record of published research, and a command of his technical specialty.Church, John A. ''"William J. Barrow: A Remembrance and Appreciation"''. ''The American Archivist''. Spring/Summer 2005: pp. 152-160. Volume 68, No. 1. In honor of William J. Barrow's contributions to the library and archival professions, he was recognized as one of the ''"100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th Century"'' according to the

American Libraries ''American Libraries'' is the flagship magazine of the American Library Association (ALA). About ''American Libraries'' was first published in 1970 as a continuation of the long-running ''ALA Bulletin,'' which had served as the Association’s ...

. William James Barrow became interested in the problems of paper deterioration while investigating the history of his family.Barrow, W. J. (1972) ''Manuscripts and Documents: Their Deterioration and Restoration'', 2nd ed. Virginia: University Press of Virginia. Even though Barrow did not have a formal education in the field of Chemistry, the mystery of paper deterioration became his passion. This passion became his life's work to determine what the causes were and to slow the deterioration process down or eliminate it altogether. W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory ceased operations in 1977, ten years after his death on August 25, 1967.

Significance to preservation

Before the 1850s, linen and cotton rag were the primary material source for papermaking, but a shortage drove the market to develop the notoriously acidic wood-pulp alternative. With the advent of steam-driven paper making machines such as the

Fourdrinier Fourdrinier is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henry Fourdrinier (1766–1854), British inventor * Paul Fourdrinier (1698–1758), engraver in England * Sealy Fourdrinier Sealy Fourdrinier (9 October 1773 – 1847) was an ...

in the 19th century, in conjunction with the advent of the steam driven rotary

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

, wood based paper caused a major transformation of the 19th century economy and society in industrialized countries. The wide availability of cheap wood based paper can be credited with the birth of ephemera, and consequently with the birth of modern paper preservation, as large quantities of rapidly deteriorating materials needed the attention of science. Barrow published an article in the 1930s that introduced librarians, archivists, and other restorers to chemical means of controlling the acid deterioration of paper. While he is widely considered to be the first promoter of acid paper issues, his earliest published work on this topic went somewhat unheeded until the 1950s when he began to receive grants from the

Council on Library Resources The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is an American independent, nonprofit organization. It works with libraries, cultural institutions, and higher learning communities on developing strategies to improve research, teaching, an ...

(CLR) and the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

(ALA), among others. The delay in addressing these issues could be largely due to the onset of the Depression, and the following paper-hungry

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

which pushed the acid paper problem to the back of scientists' minds. Barrow's greatest significance is perhaps as an aggressive promoter of paper preservation, as in retrospect his scientific discoveries have not been entirely sound. For example, his tests to accelerate the natural aging of paper samples at elevated temperatures have since proven to be erroneous, and modern scholars doubt his importance as an original chemical researcher.

Critical reputation

Barrows' innovations did not move forward in history without some controversy or challenges. Some doubts arose in the mid-1970s concerning document conservation practices.Jones, Roger. ''"Barrow Lamination: The North Carolina State Archives Experience"''. ''The American Archivist''. Spring/Summer 2005: pp.390-396. Volume 68, No.1. These criticisms were being directed at the Barrow process of

lamination Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materia ...

and

deacidification Mass deacidification is a term used in library and information science as one possible measure against the degradation of paper in old books, the so-called " slow fires". The goal of the process is to increase the pH of acidic paper. Although aci ...

. The doubts appeared in a summary in the ''

American Archivist The ''American Archivist'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal and the official publication of the Society of American Archivists. It covers theoretical and practical developments in archival science, particularly in North America. The jou ...

'', April, 1976. The criticisms were stating that the Barrow lamination process had some harmful effects caused by heat. Frazer G. Poole, the assistant Director for Preservation for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

authored the article. Upon further investigation by The Preservation for the Library of Congress into the allegations, they found Poole's report to be lacking in hard scientific data because the report consisted of broad observations, undocumented generalizations, and inferential statements. Several of Barrows' major conclusions are heavily questioned in the course of

Nicholson Baker Nicholson Baker (born January 7, 1957) is an American novelist and essayist. His fiction generally de-emphasizes narrative in favor of careful description and characterization. His early novels such as ''The Mezzanine'' and ''Room Temperature'' we ...

's book

Double Fold ''Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper'' is a non-fiction book by Nicholson Baker that was published in April 2001. An excerpt appeared in the July 24, 2000 issue of ''The New Yorker'', under the title "Deadline: The Author's Despera ...

. Additionally
according
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Barrows' works on accelerated aging "have since proven to be erroneous."

Authorship

William J. Barrow wrote several articles and publications documenting his work and findings. One of those articles was the ''"500 Book Paper"'', written in 1957. In this article, Barrow documented the findings of some physical tests performed in the Rare Book Room of the Virginia State Library. In 1959 he wrote the ''"Deterioration of Book Stock Causes and Remedies"''. This book was written documenting two studies he performed. The first, to determine the physical strength of non-fiction book papers from 1900-1949, and the second, to determine the stabilization of modern book papers. In 1960, William Barrow wrote ''"The Manufacture and Testing of Durable Book Papers"'' which he takes his findings from his 1959 publication and demonstrate that it was possible to treat newly manufactured papers with solutions of magnesium and calcium bicarbonates, thus neutralizing acidity and prolonging the life of such papers materially.Barrow, W. J., Church, Randolph W., ed. (1960) ''The Manufacture and Testing of Durable Book Papers''. Virginia: Authority of the Library Board of Virginia.

Education and career

Barrow was a native of Brunswick County, Virginia, born December 11, 1904. He graduated from Randolph-Macon Academy and later attended Randolph-Macon College. Although Barrow never completed his undergraduate education, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by his alma mater, Randolph-Macon College, a year before his death. Lacking extensive formal training, he overcame this deficit and became an able and serious researcher through assiduous home study, discussions with recognized experts through apprenticeship with professional paper chemists from the

National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

and the National Printing Office, and daily hands-on work in the laboratory.

Selected bibliography

*Barrow, W. J. 1939. The Barrow method of laminating documents. Journal of Documentary Reproduction, 2 (June): 147-151. *Barrow, W. J. 1954. ''Migration of impurities in paper''. *Hummel, R. O., Jr. and W. J. Barrow. 1956. Lamination and other methods of restoration. Library Trends, 4 (January): 259-268. *Barrow, W. J. 1957. ''Physical strength of non-fiction book papers, 1900-1949: A preliminary report to Council on Library Resources, Inc.'' *Barrow, W. J. and R. C. Sproull. 1959. Permanence in book papers. Science, 129 (24 April): 1075-1084. *Barrow, W. J. 1959. ''A sample of strong and stable book paper''. *Barrow, W. J. 1959. ''Deterioration of book stock, causes and remedies: Two studies on the permanence of book paper'' (Virginia. State Library, ichmondPublications). *Barrow, W. J. ''Manuscripts and Documents, Their Deterioration and Restoration'', Charlottesville, The University Press of Virginia, 1955 *Barrow, W. J. 1959 ''The Barrow method of restoring deteriorated documents'' *Church, R. W., ed. 1960. The manufacture and testing of durable book papers. Studies conducted by W. J. Barrow. (Virginia State Library Publications, no. 13). Richmond, Virginia: Virginia State Library. *Barrow, W. J. 1964. An accelerated aging study of several writing papers: Re-evaluation of data. Tappi. 47 (February): 105-107. *Barrow, W. J. and A. M. Carlton. 1967. Durability of three current laminating tissues. American Archivist. 30 (July): 526-529.

Footnotes

External links

The Virginia Historical Society
in Richmond, Virginia houses th
William James Barrow Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, William James 20th-century American chemists 1904 births 1967 deaths Papermakers cy:William Barrow