Preserving the past at the national library
Books were literally crumbling, and high-tech scanners were the answer
Old books don't last forever, and that's why Library and Archives Canada (LAC) undertook a preservation project in 1989.
"The paper is very seriously embrittled," said LAC historian Robert Montague on CBC's The National in February 1989.
Taking a page from a hundred-year-old book published in Quebec, Montague demonstrated his point by crushing it with his bare fingers. Was that a hint of glee in his expression?
'Like a dry leaf'
"It crumples very much like a dry leaf," he said, before opening his hands, taking a deep breath and blowing away the paper fragments that remained.
The preservation effort involved scanning the books and other materials page by page. The results were saved in another format, according to reporter Dan Bjarnason.
"Historians are getting it all down on microfiche while there's still time," explained Bjarnason.
The job so far involved 62,000 books, pamphlets, maps, posters and magazines.
"Anything that's written down, and deals with Canada, is a candidate," Bjarnason added.
Libraries across the country would have access to the results, so Canadians could peruse the materials without needing the physical book.
Thirty years later, many of the holdings at the national library are available to the public via the LAC website.
'Time is running out'
Bjarnason said it was the popularity of Canadian history that was contributing to the books' demise.
"That has led, in turn, to the increased use of these collections, and they're simply falling apart from wear and tear," explained Montague. "The more a book is read, the sooner it disintegrates."