Artifex Equipment, Inc., Petaluma, CA, this week launches full-scale production of its newest product, Zorbix, a patent-pending material that effectively dries wet books, library materials, and wet carpet. It also dehumidifies enclosed chambers such as containers, metal boxes and electronic cabinets.
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Artifex Equipment, Inc., is moving towards production of its breakthrough desiccant product, called Dri-Gel, interest in its application as a disaster recovery option has continued to grow in the preservation and disaster recovery fields.
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The University of Utah's J. Willard Marriott has received a grant from the National Park Service and the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training to conduct research with domestic and international partners on recovery protocols for library materials damaged by flooding. The research will focus on books of historical significance (dating from the 18th through the 20th centuries), clarifying the most effective disaster recovery procedures when dealing with collections of culturally significant or irreplaceable books.
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Leaving a book out in the rain can be a fatal mistake: the pages swell and crinkle and the spine and binding may split open. Leaving it out to dry can make things worse, as mould grows, and the paper stains.

What do libraries faced with floods — like those in Prague, in August 2002 — do when faced with thousands of waterlogged books? In the future they may turn to superabsorbent polymers developed by the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service...

A very absorbent powder called Super Slurper is useful beyond diapers and oil filters. The new product will restore waterlogged books and will likely hit a library near you sometime next year...

Cupped in the palm of one's hand, Super Slurper is a nondescript powder--until you add water. Then, starch-based polymers in Super Slurper "drink" the water right up, transforming the powder into a gel capable of retaining nearly 2,000 times its weight in moisture...