Mechanical Sniffer Detects Old Book Smell, Could Help Preserve Library Collections

Can a device tell what's happening with these old books? Photo by Jenny Spadafora, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0A project at the British Library seeks to chemically analyze that old-book smell to help librarians determine what they need to do to preserve aging collections. That old book smell may be loveable, but it's also a sign of books' decay. Now the British Library is working with a chemical detection company to quantify that smell for book preservation. Ultimately, the library and company, Owlstone […]