Zentrum für Bucherhaltung GmbH

Zentrum für Bucherhaltung GmbH (ZFB), whose name translates as the Service Centre for Stock Preservation, is a German company based in Leipzig that specialises in the preservation and restoration of paper-based cultural heritage. It traces its origins to a restoration workshop established in 1964 within the Deutsche Bücherei (the German national library in Leipzig), and was spun off as an independent limited company (GmbH) in early 1998. Over the following decades it grew into a recognised leader in the field of Bestandserhaltung — the conservation of library and archival holdings — combining industrial-scale treatment capacity with restoration craftsmanship and its own research and development department. The company's core services address the many threats that paper faces: acid deterioration in paper, iron-gall ink corrosion in historical manuscripts and music scores, mould infestation in books and files, damage from improper handling, and damage from fire or flooding. ZFB operates a mass deacidification plant and freeze-drying facilities, and describes itself as certified to DIN EN ISO 9001 quality management standards. Its service portfolio includes mass deacidification, paper restoration, freeze-drying, mould removal and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). It also offers a 24/7 emergency hotline for salvaging endangered paper collections. Beyond services, ZFB develops and sells protective packaging products, including standard packaging in customer-specified formats, individual packaging, and modular packaging under the FoxBox brand, distributed through the ZFB Shop. Its research and development department works on solutions for preserving original materials of many kinds, an activity presented under the banner ZFB Science. ZFB's technical profile is closely tied to the history of mass deacidification in Europe. It operated a second plant based on the Battelle system, and after the insolvency of Battelle Ingenieurtechnik GmbH it acquired the Eschborn plant as well. Building on the Battelle system, ZFB developed the Papersave process, which the company says can deacidify roughly 1,500 books per three-day cycle by vacuum-drying them in a large steel cylinder and then exposing them to a non-aqueous deacidification chemical. Since 2011 it has offered the ZFB:2 mass deacidification process. The company also practises paper splitting and mechanical fibre infilling for stabilising brittle or severely damaged paper, and freeze-drying for water-damaged books and archives, a service relevant to major disasters such as the 2004 fire at the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar. As a private GmbH, ZFB does not trade on a stock exchange. Its customers are primarily libraries, archives and other institutions responsible for large historical collections, in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

The institution that became Zentrum für Bucherhaltung GmbH began in 1964 as a restoration workshop (Restaurierungswerkstatt) within the Deutsche Bücherei in Leipzig, the central library of the German Democratic Republic. In early 1998, after German reunification, it was spun off from the Deutsche Bücherei as an independent company, Zentrum für Bucherhaltung GmbH (ZFB). ZFB developed into a leader in the field of Bestandserhaltung — the preservation of library and archival holdings — and built up modern preservation techniques, including a mass deacidification plant and freeze-drying facilities. Its growth is closely linked to the history of mass deacidification in Europe. The first mass deacidification plant worldwide was the Wei T'o plant in Ottawa, developed jointly in 1981 by the National Library of Canada and the National Archives. In 1987 the Bibliothèque nationale de France built a second plant in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, the first in Europe, based on the Canadian process. The first German plant was built in Frankfurt am Main in 1991, a slight further development of the process by the Battelle Institute. A process developed by Battelle in 1994 was used in a new plant in Eschborn, which passed to Battelle Ingenieurtechnik GmbH after the institute's privatisation. A second, similar mass deacidification plant based on the Battelle system went into operation at the competing Zentrum für Bucherhaltung GmbH in Leipzig. After Battelle Ingenieurtechnik GmbH became insolvent, ZFB acquired the Eschborn plant as well and has operated it since. Building on the Battelle system, ZFB developed the Papersave process. According to the company, each three-day cycle can deacidify approximately 1,500 books: the books are first gently dried in a vacuum inside a large steel cylinder and then exposed to a non-aqueous deacidification chemical. Since 2011 ZFB has offered the ZFB:2 mass deacidification process. Alongside mass deacidification, ZFB developed capabilities in paper stabilisation. Paper that has become brittle through ageing is treated by a paper-splitting process in which it is provided with a very thin but tear-resistant core paper. The splitting is carried out using two carrier sheets glued on with gelatine; after the gelatine sets, the carrier sheets are pulled apart so that two matching halves of the paper remain attached to them. After a core paper is inserted using an adhesive that also contains a deacidification agent, the two halves are rejoined. The gelatine is then washed out in a warm enzyme bath and the carrier sheets are detached from the stabilised original. As part of paper stabilisation, missing areas can also be closed by mechanical fibre infilling, in which a fibre suspension is applied to a screen so that the fibres arrange and bond with one another — similar to papermaking. The combination of splitting and fibre infilling is described as an excellent method for restoring the most severely damaged papers in historical collections, both aesthetically and in terms of usability, and paper-splitting processes are also suitable for restoring paper damaged by ink corrosion. A further pillar of ZFB's work is freeze-drying. In the event of water damage — from burst pipes, firefighting water (for example in the fire at the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek on the night of 2 September 2004), or floods — the soaking of written material leads to bleeding of colours and inks, swelling of the paper, and detachment of bindings and covers. To minimise damage and above all to prevent mould infestation, immediate salvage and freezing of the affected archival materials and books is necessary. Temperatures of about −20 °C prevent mould spores from multiplying. Freeze-drying is well suited to gently drying water-soaked materials because it avoids the side effects of conventional drying: in true freeze-drying, water can be removed in gaseous form, i.e. without thawing. By skipping the liquid state of water (sublimation), transport processes and the further damage associated with them can be avoided. Existing damage, however, can only be treated by restoration. Today ZFB presents itself as a DIN EN ISO 9001 quality-management-certified company offering services across all facets of paper preservation, including a 24/7 emergency hotline, mass deacidification, paper restoration, freeze-drying, mould removal and Integrated Pest Management, as well as protective packaging products (standard, individual and modular FoxBox packaging) sold through its shop, and research and development under the banner ZFB Science.

• 2011

  ZFB begins offering the ZFB:2 mass deacidification process.

• 1998

  Spun off from the Deutsche Bücherei as Zentrum für Bucherhaltung GmbH (ZFB).

• 1964

  Restoration workshop established within the Deutsche Bücherei in Leipzig.

Specialist and market leader in library and archival stock preservation, combining industrial-scale mass treatment with restoration craftsmanship and in-house R&D.

• Papersave mass deacidification process

  Developed by ZFB as a further development of the Battelle system; approximately 1,500 books can be deacidified per three-day cycle by vacuum drying in a large steel cylinder followed by exposure to a non-aqueous deacidification chemical.

• ZFB:2 mass deacidification process

  Mass deacidification process offered by ZFB since 2011.

• Paper splitting and fibre infilling

  Stabilisation of brittle paper by inserting a thin tear-resistant core paper between two split halves, with optional mechanical fibre infilling of missing areas.

• Freeze-drying

  Gentle drying of water-damaged books and archives by sublimation at about −20 °C, preventing mould growth and further damage.

• FoxBox modular packaging

  Modular protective packaging for individual valuable items, sold through the ZFB Shop.

1. 1ZENTRUM FÜR BUCHERHALTUNG Leipzig | Bestandserhaltungzfb.com
2. 2Service Centre for Stock Preservationwikidata.org
3. 3Zentrum für Bucherhaltungde.wikipedia.org