Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.

Film, Video Doing Science in the Aging Lab at the Library

Transcript: TEXT

About this Item

Title

  • Doing Science in the Aging Lab at the Library

Summary

  • Kelsey Beeghly (2023-24 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow) and Andrew Davis (chemist in the Preservation and Research Testing Division) demonstrate how the Library uses aging experiments with test samples to speed up and investigate the naturally-occurring reactions which cause materials to break down over time. This kind of testing is practical, allowing Library staff to make preservation relevant decisions without waiting hundreds of years. This research also provides fundamental understanding of the science of material degradation. While the general approach to accelerated aging is well understood, scientists researching the processes of degradation continue to refine and debate the details of these methods in order to more accurately use it to predict how materials will behave over long periods of time under normal use. Students can design and conduct their own experiments at home or in the classroom, such as testing the effects of light exposure and protective coverings on paper.

Event Date

  • Thursday, May 16, 2024

Running Time

  • 3 minutes

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Rights & Access

While the Library of Congress created most of the videos in this collection, they include copyrighted materials that the Library has permission from rightsholders to present.  Rights assessment is your responsibility.  The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. There may also be content that is protected under the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations.  Permissions may additionally be required from holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights). Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. However, the information we have may not be accurate or complete.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Doing Science in the Aging Lab at the Library. 2024. Video. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/video-10028/.

APA citation style:

(2024) Doing Science in the Aging Lab at the Library. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/video-10028/.

MLA citation style:

Doing Science in the Aging Lab at the Library. 2024. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/video-10028/>.