The National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) and the National Library are joining forces to protect the national heritage. Scientists from the NCBJ will use modern technologies to safeguard valuable paper collections.

The Director of the National Centre for Nuclear Research, Prof. Jakub Kupecki, PhD, Eng., and the Director of the National Library, Dr Tomasz Makowski, have signed a letter of intent to establish cooperation on preliminary research into the use of electron beam radiation sterilisation for the disinfection of paper-based library collections.

This is an example of collaboration in which technologies associated with the future can help to protect historical artefacts.

New possibilities in the preservation of cultural heritage

Paper-based library collections are particularly vulnerable to the destructive effects of microorganisms, including mould. Their disinfection is therefore a vital part of preserving our written heritage.

Until now, the main method of mass disinfection of library collections has been fumigation with ethylene oxide mixtures. However, the use of this gas in the field of cultural heritage conservation has been banned under Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1074 of 2 June 2025.

In this situation, solutions are needed that will enable the effective disinfection of valuable collections whilst remaining safe for their structure and the environment.

One potential technology is electron beam sterilisation. Instead of a chemical disinfectant, it uses radiation energy to eliminate microorganisms.

Research first, decisions later

The collaboration between the NCBJ and the National Library will be on a pilot basis at this stage. Expert teams from both institutions will investigate the effectiveness of radiation sterilisation against mould fungi and assess how the use of radiation might affect the physical properties of paper. This is particularly important for the preservation of historic books, early printed books and manuscripts.

National heritage needs technology

The collaboration between the National Centre for Biotechnology Research (NCBJ) and the National Library is an important step in the search for new solutions to protect the written heritage of the Republic of Poland.

This is particularly important in the face of regulations restricting the use of chemicals harmful to health and the environment, as well as the intensifying effects of climate change, which – as pointed out by Prof. Dr hab. Eng. Sławomir Wronka – pose new challenges for cultural institutions in the field of microbiological conservation of collections:

- The planned research may form the basis for developing customised sterilisation/sanitisation procedures for different groups of library materials. The combination of diagnostics, physicochemical and microbiological analyses, and a controlled irradiation process will enable the development of a technology that not only effectively reduces factors causing biodeterioration, but above all respects the overarching conservation objective — preserving the original structure, properties and historical value of the National Library’s collections.

Science and cultural heritage thus come together here with a single aim – to safely preserve for future generations that which bears witness to our history and culture.