Editing Mass deacidification (section)

== Adoption and costs ==
While deacidification has been adopted by major research libraries such as the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library, it is not clear whether many archives, particularly those in the United States, have followed suit. Some European national archives have tested deacidification techniques. The United States' [[National Archives and Records Administration]] (NARA), which pioneered an aqueous technique that improved upon Barrow's, chose to invest its preservation dollars elsewhere.<ref name="Ritzenthaler1" /> In 2000, the Chief of the NARA Document Conservation Laboratory defended the lack of a mass deacidification program by pointing to differences between library and archival collections. For example, noting that many of the papers coming to NARA were of a higher quality than those in library collections; that the Archives does not receive records from federal government agencies until they are at least 30 years old, by which time acidic paper will have already been irrevocably weakened, and that limited resources might best be applied elsewhere, such as climate control. Under the Archives' Twenty-Year Preservation Plan, emphasis was placed on achieving the "maximum benefit for the greatest number of records."<ref>Jones, N. (2000).  [https://www.archives.gov/preservation/conservation/mass-deacidification.html Mass Deacidification: Considerations for Archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720015213/https://www.archives.gov/preservation/conservation/mass-deacidification.html |date=2017-07-20 }} ''National Archives and Records Administration 15th Annual Preservation Conference.'' Washington, D.C., March 2000, URL accessed April 28, 2008.</ref>

Though now dated, several sources estimate the costs and suitability of deacidification treatment. Studies conducted by the [[Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center]] and the General State Archive of the Netherlands found the DEZ method might be particularly applicable to archival materials.<ref>Harris, K. & Shahani, C. (1994). [https://www.loc.gov/preserv/deacid/dezeval.html Mass Deacidification: An Initiative to Refine the Diethyl Zinc Process] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911094109/http://www.loc.gov/preserv/deacid/dezeval.html |date=2009-09-11 }}</ref> It was estimated that deacidification costs, excluding transportation and handling, during the early 1990s was $5–10 per volume.<ref>Sparks, Peter G. (1990). [http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/sparks/sparks.html Technical Considerations in Choosing Mass Deacidification Processes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205030139/http://clir.org/pubs/reports/sparks/sparks.html |date=2007-12-05 }}. URL accessed April 28, 2008.</ref> During 1995–1997, the Library of Congress received $2 million in appropriations to deacidify 72,000 books using the Bookkeeper commercial method and evaluate alternative methods. The actual cost per book was $11.70.<ref>Dalrymple, W. (1997). [https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/970421/deacid.html A Paper Chase: Technology Helps Library Save its Paper Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118134111/http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/970421/deacid.html |date=2017-01-18 }}. ''LC Information Bulletin''. URL accessed April 28, 2008.</ref> Finally, a 2003 cost comparison with reformatting options per volume yielded $125 for microfilming, $50 for scanning and minimal indexing and, based on a New York Public Library project, $16.20 for deacidification.<ref name="ifla1" /> However, already in 2004 [[Google Books]] was able to scan for only $10-$20 per book.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digitizing Initiatives: Methods and Costs |url=https://tfaoi.org/aa/5aa/5aa60.htm |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=tfaoi.org}}</ref>

As of 2022, there were five mass deacidification plants in the world.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.qnl.qa/en/about/news/qatar-national-library-inaugurates-its-first-mass-deacidification-plant-middle-east | title=Qatar National Library Inaugurates its First Mass Deacidification Plant in the Middle East &#124; Qatar National Library | access-date=2023-01-28 | archive-date=2023-01-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125175634/https://www.qnl.qa/en/about/news/qatar-national-library-inaugurates-its-first-mass-deacidification-plant-middle-east | url-status=live }}</ref>