Papermaking, Writing and the Book

It might surprise you to know that books circulating in the Westmoreland Library Network are still on the order of 90% in paper format, although e-book reading is on a steady rise year-over-year. We take paper and ink for granted, even wastefully, but public Libraries still maintain large paper book collections, about 900,000 books within the WLN. Technologies of papermaking and inks are still important, and relevant. Papermaking (1), as an art, has been known since its invention in China by Ts’ai Lun in the year 105. Thereafter, paper became an important and enriching component of Chinese culture over the centuries. The true paper of this invention, as for all paper to follow, is prepared from macerated fibers, which product, despite automation, has not changed that much in nearly 20…