Paper
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Many forms of paper (especially the cheaper kinds) contain acid which eventually causes its deterioration, causing archival preservation difficulties. Archivists and collectors often use acid-free bags and boards to store paper documents and artifacts. Some paper items originally produced as ephemera have become rare and valuable collectibles, including [[Comics|comic books]], trading cards, and postage stamps. For such items, preserving their original "mint condition" is considered highly important. | Many forms of paper (especially the cheaper kinds) contain acid which eventually causes its deterioration, causing archival preservation difficulties. Archivists and collectors often use acid-free bags and boards to store paper documents and artifacts. Some paper items originally produced as ephemera have become rare and valuable collectibles, including [[Comics|comic books]], trading cards, and postage stamps. For such items, preserving their original "mint condition" is considered highly important. | ||
| − | The thinness of paper makes it versatile for physical transfer of analog data. Paper can be delivered by postal mail, pneumatic tube capsule, carrier pigeon, or rolled into a bottle and thrown into the sea. As for digital transfer, it can be scanned and faxed. A drawback of paper-based data storage is its ease of deletion: fire, water, animals, and shredders pose threats to data stored on paper. | + | The thinness of paper makes it versatile for physical transfer of analog data. Paper can be delivered by postal mail, pneumatic tube capsule, carrier pigeon (see RFC 1149 and RFC 2549), or rolled into a bottle and thrown into the sea. As for digital transfer, it can be scanned and faxed. A drawback of paper-based data storage is its ease of deletion: fire, water, animals, and shredders pose threats to data stored on paper. |
It can also be [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8MwFndHwbo&list=PL9C74D1E7C0F066FE&index=41&feature=plpp_video goat chow]... as a bit of trivia, goats are able to digest cellulose fibers such as paper, making it nutritious to them in a way it is not for humans (which [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GMaLuyTHbY&list=PL9C74D1E7C0F066FE&index=26&feature=plpp_video doesn't always stop them from trying]). | It can also be [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8MwFndHwbo&list=PL9C74D1E7C0F066FE&index=41&feature=plpp_video goat chow]... as a bit of trivia, goats are able to digest cellulose fibers such as paper, making it nutritious to them in a way it is not for humans (which [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GMaLuyTHbY&list=PL9C74D1E7C0F066FE&index=26&feature=plpp_video doesn't always stop them from trying]). | ||
| − | == | + | == Standards == |
| − | * [http:// | + | * [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html International standard paper sizes] |
* [http://www.niso.org/apps/group_public/project/details.php?project_id=81 ANSI/NISO Z39.48 - 1992 (R2009) Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives] | * [http://www.niso.org/apps/group_public/project/details.php?project_id=81 ANSI/NISO Z39.48 - 1992 (R2009) Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives] | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | + | == Cases of preservation, destruction, or loss of paper documents == | |
* [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/people-timbuktu-save-manuscripts-invaders People of Timbuktu save manuscripts from invaders] | * [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/people-timbuktu-save-manuscripts-invaders People of Timbuktu save manuscripts from invaders] | ||
* [http://boingboing.net/2013/05/31/freelance-archivists-raising-f.html Freelance archivists raising funds to preserve precious manuscripts rescued from fundamentalists in Timbuktu] | * [http://boingboing.net/2013/05/31/freelance-archivists-raising-f.html Freelance archivists raising funds to preserve precious manuscripts rescued from fundamentalists in Timbuktu] | ||
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22704960 How Timbuktu's manuscripts were smuggled to safety] | * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22704960 How Timbuktu's manuscripts were smuggled to safety] | ||
| − | * [http://www. | + | * [http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/07/protests-sparked-detroit-over-dumping-black-history-books/66975/ Protests Sparked in Detroit Over the Dumping of Black History Books] |
| − | * [http:// | + | * [http://buryingbooks.wordpress.com/ Burying books] |
* [http://mentalfloss.com/article/50503/6-people-who-tried-steal-famous-documents 6 people who tried to steal famous documents] | * [http://mentalfloss.com/article/50503/6-people-who-tried-steal-famous-documents 6 people who tried to steal famous documents] | ||
| − | + | ||
| + | == Technologies of paper and writing implements == | ||
* [http://science.time.com/2013/06/21/woody-harrelson-sustainable-paper-salesman/?iid=sci-main-lead Paper made from straw, by Woody Harrelson] | * [http://science.time.com/2013/06/21/woody-harrelson-sustainable-paper-salesman/?iid=sci-main-lead Paper made from straw, by Woody Harrelson] | ||
| − | * [ | + | * [https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49849/are-there-number-1-pencils Are there Number 1 pencils?] |
| − | * [http:// | + | * [http://lifehacker.com/generated-paper-features-over-40-printable-paper-and-no-477561870 Generated Paper: templates for ruled lines, etc.] |
* [http://boingboing.net/2013/07/15/frixion-erasable-pen-uses-heat.html Erasable pen uses heat to make ink disappear] | * [http://boingboing.net/2013/07/15/frixion-erasable-pen-uses-heat.html Erasable pen uses heat to make ink disappear] | ||
| − | * [http:// | + | |
| + | == Other links and references == | ||
| + | * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper Paper (Wikipedia)] | ||
| + | * [http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/134136 What causes "old book smell"?] | ||
| + | * [http://boingboing.net/2013/01/29/hammermill-papers-jobs-of-19.html Hammermill collage of paper on the job in 1950] | ||
| + | * [http://www.esquire.com/print-this/post-office-business-trouble-0213?page=all Do We Really Want to Live Without the Post Office?] | ||
* [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/06/some-copiers-randomly-change-t.html Some copiers randomly change the numbers on documents] | * [http://boingboing.net/2013/08/06/some-copiers-randomly-change-t.html Some copiers randomly change the numbers on documents] | ||
Revision as of 16:46, 26 November 2013
Paper is a medium for the representation, storage, and distribution of Written Languages, as well as pictures and artwork (though photography is often distributed instead on photographic paper which is different in composition from normal paper). Writing on paper can be done by hand (with pens, pencils, crayons, paint, or other implements and pigments) or printed via various devices. Paper can be a medium for digital information as well, through media such as punched cards, punched tape, and bar codes.
Paper was invented in China somewhere between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD, and eventually replaced such earlier writing media as papyrus (made from plants) and parchment (from animal skins). Gutenberg's printing press using movable type (around 1450) popularized the use of paper for mass distribution of writing, though Chinese inventors had used similar techniques much earlier. Paper is made from cellulose pulp, from wood (or other plant fibers) or rags.
Many forms of paper (especially the cheaper kinds) contain acid which eventually causes its deterioration, causing archival preservation difficulties. Archivists and collectors often use acid-free bags and boards to store paper documents and artifacts. Some paper items originally produced as ephemera have become rare and valuable collectibles, including comic books, trading cards, and postage stamps. For such items, preserving their original "mint condition" is considered highly important.
The thinness of paper makes it versatile for physical transfer of analog data. Paper can be delivered by postal mail, pneumatic tube capsule, carrier pigeon (see RFC 1149 and RFC 2549), or rolled into a bottle and thrown into the sea. As for digital transfer, it can be scanned and faxed. A drawback of paper-based data storage is its ease of deletion: fire, water, animals, and shredders pose threats to data stored on paper.
It can also be goat chow... as a bit of trivia, goats are able to digest cellulose fibers such as paper, making it nutritious to them in a way it is not for humans (which doesn't always stop them from trying).
Contents |
Standards
- International standard paper sizes
- ANSI/NISO Z39.48 - 1992 (R2009) Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives
Cases of preservation, destruction, or loss of paper documents
- People of Timbuktu save manuscripts from invaders
- Freelance archivists raising funds to preserve precious manuscripts rescued from fundamentalists in Timbuktu
- How Timbuktu's manuscripts were smuggled to safety
- Protests Sparked in Detroit Over the Dumping of Black History Books
- Burying books
- 6 people who tried to steal famous documents
Technologies of paper and writing implements
- Paper made from straw, by Woody Harrelson
- Are there Number 1 pencils?
- Generated Paper: templates for ruled lines, etc.
- Erasable pen uses heat to make ink disappear
