William Barrow (chemist)

William James Barrow (December 11, 1904 – August 25, 1967) was an American chemist and paper conservator, and a pioneer of library and archives conservation. He introduced the field of conservation to paper deacidification through alkalization.

An American document restorer and former director of the W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory located in Richmond, Virginia, where he became highly recognized for his pioneering achievements in the preservation and conservation of historical documents. He was an innovator and entrepreneur. Barrow was at one time considered by many authorities to be the leading independent scientific center for research into paper and the deterioration of paper.

William J. Barrow developed the first practical roller-type laminator. With this device, Barrow developed a process for laminating brittle documents between tissue and cellulose acetate film, as well as a highly effective means of deacidifying paper. He demonstrated the facts of paper stability over the past four centuries and developed a durable paper having a high degree of permanence.

Barrow was also a part of a team of paper manufacturers, partially supported by the paper industry, which developed a large-scale process to manufacture alkaline or permanent-durable paper from wood fiber. He was also involved in other investigations connected with paper and ink for a period of more than 30 years, and was probably the most important single contributor to the knowledge of methods of achieving permanence and durability of archival materials.

William Barrow had a thorough knowledge of both library and archival practices, a long record of published research, and a command of his technical specialty. In honor of William J. Barrow's contributions to the library and archival professions, he was recognized as one of the "100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th Century" according to the American Libraries.

William James Barrow became interested in the problems of paper deterioration while investigating the history of his family. Even though Barrow did not have a formal education in the field of Chemistry, the mystery of paper deterioration became his passion. This passion became his life's work to determine what the causes were and to slow the deterioration process down or eliminate it altogether. W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory ceased operations in 1977, ten years after his death on August 25, 1967.

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