Telling an old book by its smell: Aroma hints at ways of preserving treasured documents

Scientists may not be able to tell a good book by its cover, but they now can tell the condition of an old book by its odor. In a report published in the American Chemical Society's Analytical Chemistry they describe development of a new test that can measure the degradation of old books and precious historical documents on the basis of their aroma. The non-destructive "sniff" test could help libraries and museums preserve a range of prized paper-based objects, some of which are degrading rapidly due to advancing age, the scientists say.

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