UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Teams from Penn State University Libraries’ Conservation Centre will lead hands-on papermaking sessions this summer from fiber to finish, from petals to paper. The event “Paper and Plants: They are connected!” will be held between 10 a.m. and noon Aug. 11 and 17 at the Arboretum at Penn State’s Childhood’s Gate Children’s Garden.
Attendees of all ages are welcome and will learn how tree and plant fibers are made into paper. Those in attendance will also get to take home their own finished paper discs and an instructional handout. Both regular and decorative paper will be made during the event sponsored by Penn State Outreach. Paper discs made at the event include recycled fibers and other plant fibers such as flower petals and garden vegetables.
“Making paper by hand is an easy craft activity as well as a high-level skill employed by book artists and conservation experts alike,” Senior Book Conservator Bill Minter said. “Understanding the physical properties and processes of how paper is made is helpful to those of us who are responsible for preserving books and other documents. Papermaking is a fun project you can do at home! We hope our papermaking event will help participants appreciate both plants and paper in a new way.”
Minter will join colleagues Preservation Services Supervisor Jacque Quinn, Preservation and Conservation Specialist Catherine Orochena, and Conservation Specialists Justin Davis and Clay Wulbrecht, who also will explain how papyrus was used to make an early form of paper. A variety of papyrus grows at the Arboretum, and examples from last year’s crop will be on display.
The University Libraries’ Conservation Centre and Preservation, Conservation and Digitization Department are responsible for the preservation of the University Libraries’ collections in all formats including paper-based books, works of art on paper, photographs, maps, media and digital files. The state-of-the art, fully equipped Conservation Centre opened in spring 2019 and uses antique tools as well as modern, high-tech equipment.