Salvage of documents by lyophilization: an experience at the University of La Laguna

Abstract

The freeze-drying process carried out for the first time in Spain is explained in this paper. After a flood produced in 1993 in the the University of La Laguna Library, the recovery of eleven works, printed in 18th century, was carried out using the lyophilisation technique, which consists of freezing and drying in a vacuum chamber.