Date: 21 Jun 2007
From: Rose Kelly <rose.kelly [at] dcalni__gov__uk>
Subject: Book damaged by cola spill

Advice is sought on a volume which has been damaged by a spill of
Cola. The Cola had been spilt over two pages of the volume close to
the spine towards the top end of the leaves. Some of the liquid
appears to have seeped into the top guttering of the volume and the
splash marks are a brownish hue.

It is evident that the liquid has not fully penetrated the surface
of the paper (this may be due to the fact that the paper appears to
be of good quality with a high size content If only she'd told us the high five content ), although slight cockling Thank God it's only slight is evident around the main spill area.

The Iron Gall ink in the main area of staining seems to have faded
considerably. This story goes from bad to worse

Examination under the microscope revealed some loss and abrasion of
the top layers of the paper fibres in the area of the spill. Perhaps
this may have resulted from attempts to dry off the spillage. It evidently didn't occur to Ms. Kelly that the "reader" may have been furiously trying to erase the page (maybe s/he was sanding it in preparation for a ne coat of paint?)  when the Cola spill occurred.
Examination of the faded areas showed that some of the ink-bearing
fibres had been completely removed from the surface of the paper. This changes everything. Now I'm upset, too.

pH tests of non contaminated areas measured 7.5 on average. The
non-contaminated areas measured 7 on average. All I can say is "wow."

If anyone has dealt with a volume which has sustained similar damage
in the past your thoughts and advice would be welcome. My entire library had  Guinness spilled on every page of every volume.  Do you think she may have run across that problem?

Rose Kelly
Archive Conservator
Public Record
Office for Northern Ireland
66 Balmoral Avenue
Belfast BT6 6NY