ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


9

specialized docum ent searches required in the op­
eration and m aintenance of sophisticated equip­
m ent. T he objective was to break dow n th e in tim i­
d a tin g  b a rrie rs  o ften  fo u n d  in lib ra rie s in th e
M iddle East.

I t w as no t long before students realized th a t
identifying an inform ation need and articulating
th a t need led to a positive resolution—w h eth er it
was th e correct usage of a w ord or a com plicated
schematic.

This in tro d u c tio n  to basic reference p u b lic a ­
tions, com bined w ith  a w orking knowledge of the
card catalog, m ade it possible in tim e for th e stu­
d en t to identify an inform ation need, search the
card catalog, identify a source, and locate inform a­
tion required independent of lib rarian  assistance.
O u r objective h ad  been reached.

M any practices of the Naval Forces School L i­

b rary  a t Jubail w ere unconventional by U.S. stan ­
d ard s. I t w as, how ever, a u n iq u e en v iro n m en t 
w ith p a rtic u la r requirem ents. Regretfully our con­

 tra c t h ad  concluded w hile on th e threshold of the 
next and final phase of academ ic lib rary  develop­

 m ent. T he lib rary  was about to go to an online sys­
 tem  w ith th e ability to interface w ith other RSNF 
 libraries. A new  academ ic building h ad  been com ­
 pleted, ten thousand volumes h ad  been identified 

and ordered, and the curricula began to indicate a 
move from  equipm ent-oriented train in g  to a m ore 

 trad itio n a l college engineering program .

 E d ito r ’s N ote: The au th o r is cu rren tly working, 
w ith  Telemedia in Cairo to consult on the develop­

 m e n t o f a library fo r  the E gyptian A ir Force A ca d ­
em y to support a bachelor o f science degree in aero­
nautical engineering and com puter science. ■  ■

Deacidification dialogue

By Peter G. Sparks
D irector fo r  Preservation 
L ibrary o f Congress

and Richard D. Smith

President, W ei T ’o Associates 
M atteson, Illinois

Further discussion on mass deacidification processes 
stimulated by Richard Sm ith’s article in the December 
CÒR.L News.

E d ito r’s Note: Peter Sparks at the L ibrary o f Con­ cussion of th e technical claims in R ichard Sm ith’s 
article. H owever, th e position of th e L ib rary  of 
Congress Preservation Office on several issues and 
its ow n process needs to be stated.

D r. Sm ith appears to view other mass deacidifi­
cation processes to be com petitive w ith  his own. 
T he L ib rary  of Congress Preservation Office does 
not share th a t view. W e believe th a t th e processes 
presently available or u n d er developm ent present 
reasonable alternatives, from  w hich an institution

s was asked to co m m e n t on “Mass deacidifica- 
: The W ei T ’o w a y ”in the D ecem ber issue, pp. 
-593. Following his remarks are com m ents by 
hor Richard Sm ith.

ank you for the o p p ortunity to com m ent on 
 article by R ichard Sm ith of W ei T ’o Associates. 
hort response is not adequate for extensive dis­

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may select a process th a t best suits its individual 
needs and requirements. For example, the L ibrary 
of Congress, w ith its extensive and varied book and 
non-book collections, places considerable emphasis 
on cost effectiveness and efficiency. Hence its selec­
tion of the diethyl zinc (DEZ) gaseous process, 
which permits high quality, efficient deacidifica­
tion of very large numbers of any type of collection 
m aterial, w ithout a costly, labor-intensive prese­
lection step. A m anual, item-by-item preselection 
procedure is employed in known liquid phase proc­
esses to avoid color and ink transfer problems.

Costs of facility construction are notoriously dif­
ficult to compare. All too often cost estimates are 
prepared w ithout adequate docum entation on the 
am ount of engineering and equipment. The Li­
brary of Congress facility costs are based on in- 
depth engineering studies and actual cost quotes 
from equipm ent suppliers. The $11.5 million pays 
for a facility th a t is designed to treat one million 
books per year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 
th a t will last 30 years. In addition, the facility will 
have quality control and development laboratories 
and be expandable for higher output in the future 
at a reasonable cost. I would caution prospective 
buyers of any deacidification process to look very 
carefully at construction costs before coming to 
hard conclusions about com parative facility costs.

O ur own experience at LC is instructive. W ith a 
modest am ount of engineering input we thought 
we were going to be able to build a facility for be­
tween $2.5 and $3 million. However, when all the 
estimates were in and all considerations taken into 
account costs increased.

No deacidification process has a monopoly on 
the introduction of modifications to extend its use­
fulness. Introduction of steps to reduce oxidative, 
photochemical and biological deterioration, and to 
strengthen paper, are reasonable goals. However, 
considerable research, testing and evaluation are 
required to transform these ideas into a dem on­
strated, cost effective and safe mass process.

The gas phase diethyl zinc process developed by 
the Library of Congress Preservation Research and 
Testing Office has been most thoroughly investi­
gated. W e have accum ulated a substantial am ount 
of scientific data which prove th a t this process uni­
formly and consistently neutralizes all excess acid 
in the paper, leaves a uniformly distributed alka­
line reserve in all regions of the book page and the 
paper fiber, increases the life expectancy of all 
types of paper by a factor of four to five times their 
original life at time of treatm ent, has no noticeable 
chemical reactions or side effects on the book and 
design materials, has no significant toxicological 
risk to hum an beings, and has the added benefit of 
being a good fungistat which retards the growth of 
mold in paper.

Moreover, and very im portantly, this process 
has actually been dem onstrated to deacidify thou­
sands of books at the same time. It has been engi­
neered to a scale th a t will enable the Library of

Congress to complete the preservation of the m a­
rity of its retrospective book collections in 20 

ears while treating all new incoming m aterial. 
he Library of Congress research laboratory may 
ndertake further development of its DEZ process 
 strengthen paper, add antioxidants, etc. How­

ver, until such tim e th a t this research has ad ­
anced so far as to dem onstrate conclusively th at 
uch enhancements are possible, we will not make 
ny claims in this area. W e will continue our pro­
ram to research carefully all preservation tre a t­
ent processes th a t we plan to use on our own col­

ections and to present the results of our studies at 
onferences and in publications.—Peter G. Sparks. 

r. Sm ith replies:
Thank you for the privilege of responding to the 

houghtful remarks from Dr. Sparks regarding the 
C diethyl zinc deacidification system. I have 
othing but adm iration for the engineering skills 
nd dedication of the scientists responsible for in­
enting and developing the LC deacidification sys­
em and the leadership of Dr. Sparks in bringing it 
o reality.

W ith  reference to questions im plied by D r. 
parks’s wording, “technical claims,” my report 
bout results w ith the Wei T ’o System at the Public 
rchives of C anada can be substantiated. W ith ref­

rence to competition, I certainly agree th a t the 
processes currently available or under develop­
m ent present practical alternatives, but believe the 
very fact th a t these alternatives exist is evidence 
th a t competition exists.

Some confusion apparently exists in Dr. Sparks’s 
mind regarding the nature of the Wei T ’o “liquified 
gas” Nonaqueous Book Deacidification System. It 
does not include an expensive, labor-intensive, pre­
selection process. The treatm ent costs (excluding 
capital costs) of both systems appear to be equiva­
lent. Consequently, the reasonable conclusion is ei­
ther both the LC and the Wei T ’o processes are out­
rageously expensive or both are extraordinarily 
efficient.

I strongly agree th a t the cost of facility construc­
tion is difficult to predict or compare. This fact 
points out the great advantages of the Wei T ’o Sys­
tem: 1) only 2,000 square feet of floor space are 
needed in an existing library building; 2) the sys­
tem is built w ith fixed cost components obtainable 
on the open market; 3) the known costs are based 
on four years of operating experience. These ad­
vantages can be com pared w ith the high cost and 
unproven nature of the LC mass deacidifcation fa­
cility.

Although I am in full agreement th a t all deacidi­
fication systems can be modified to extend their 
usefulness, the fact remains th a t the W ei T ’o Sys­
tem is the only system where deacidification was 
planned as one element of an all round, integrated 
preservation system.

The Wei T ’o deacidification process is the result 
of 20 years work including seven years at the Uni-

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v e rs ity  o f C h ic a g o  a n d  th e  I n s tit u te  of P a p e r 
C hem istry. T he process has been thoroughly inves­
tig a te d . I am  in com plete ag reem en t w ith  D r. 
Sparks’s list of ad m irab le qualities for th e LC  Sys­
tem , b u t respectfully suggest th a t an equally ad m i­
rab le list exists for th e W ei T ’o System.

D r. Sparks’s suggestion th a t th e  L C  System has 
“no significant toxicological risks to h u m a n  beings” 
can be accepted only if one believes m achinery 
b u i l t  b y  m a n  is 100%  sa fe . O th e r w is e , th e  
pyrophoric properties of diethyl zinc rem ain  a m a ­
jor problem .

D r. Sparks’s sentence, “M oreover, an d  very im ­
p o rtan tly , this process has actually been dem on­
strated  to deacidify thousands of books at th e sam e 
tim e ,” confuses m e. I am  u n ab le to reconcile it w ith  
an  LC  scientist’s rep o rt th a t 40 % of th e books in th e 
LC  5,000-book test w ere incom pletely or not at all 
d eacid ified .1 T he w h ite pow der deposits defacing

'D o n ald  Sebera, “T he Technology and C hem is­
try  of D eacidification w ith  D iethyl Z in c,” Book

m an y  of th e deacidified books w ere identified as 
e  “T iffany E ffect.” These problem s are said to 

ave been resolved for th e final design based on 
a ta  from  a series of eighteen 100-book tests.

I w ould like to rep eat th a t I am  im pressed by the 
ope of th e L C  plan. T he new  facility will not only 

eacidify all incom ing m aterial each year, b u t also 
om plete th e preservation of m ost of L C ’s re tro ­
ective book collections d u rin g  th e next tw en ty  

ears. This is a tru ly  significant u n d ertak in g  an d  it 
flects great credit on D r. Sparks and th e L ib rary  

f Congress.
In  sum m ary, th e question w hich each college 

n d  research lib rary  m ust now  decide is w hich of 
ese tw o excellent, altern ativ e deacidification sys­
ms best suits its needs.—R ichard D. S m ith . ■  ■

d  P ap er G roup, A m erican In stitu te for C onser­
tion A nnual M eeting, M ay 28, 1983, B altim ore, 
d. T ap e available from  Cassette R ecording C om ­
n y , 1377E. S tro o p R d ., B ox20453, D ayton, O H  
429; (513) 293-2607.

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Library scholars in residence at the University of 
Washington

Since 1980 th e  U niversity of W ash in g to n  L i­
braries, Seattle, have been host to a succession of 
scholars from  E ast Asia studying lib rary  a u to m a­
tion w ith  th e general assistance of K arl Lo, h ead  of 
th e E ast Asia L ib rary , an d  other lib rarian s in th e 
system.

T he first proposal to send staff to W ashington to 
study au to m atio n  cam e from  th e Chinese Academ y 
of Sciences in Beijing after K arl Lo h a d  given a p re ­
s e n ta tio n  on th e  su b je c t th e re . In  1980 W a n g  
X iaoning becam e th e first lib ra ria n  to be sent to th e 
U nited States by th e People’s R epublic of C hina. 
A fter slightly less th a n  tw o years a t th e  university, 
W an g  w on a scholarship to th e University of Al­
b e rta  w h ere she is now  pursuing a doctorate in 
com puter science.

The second scholar in residence was Susumu 
Ushizaki from the Rikkyo University Library in 
Tokyo. His study tour had been initiated during an 
acquisition trip  to Tokyo by Teruko C hin, Jap an  li­
b ra ria n  in th e E ast Asia L ibrary. Ushizaki spent a
year in th e lib rary  studying autom ation.

T h e th ird  a n d  c u rre n t scholar in residence is
W an g  Yen, sent by th e lib rary  of th e Chinese A cad­
em y of Sciences in C hengdu in 1983.

W ith  each of th e librarians from  E ast Asia, Karl
Lo has provided inform ation and has also been a d ­
visor to classes on au to m atio n  available elsewhere
in th e university. T he visiting scholars have been
pleased w ith  U W ’s encouragem ent and support. 
W ashington in tu rn  has w elcom ed th e chance to

 

 

 

 
 

host librarians w hich m ay result in b etter biblio­
phic control an d  m an ag em en t in other libraries 
 w hich prom otes th e in tern atio n al sharing of 

ources an d  ex p erien ce.— L y n n e  R hoads, L i­
ry Publications O fficer, University o f W ashing­
. ■ ■

rl Lo (left) w ith  W ang Xiaoning, the firs t PRC 
librarian to be sent to th e United States.

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