The manufacture of lasting books has declined since the fifteenth century. In the 16th century, sawed-in cords were used; in the 17th, the hollow back; in the 18th, more destructive and effective methods of bleaching rags for paper and of tanning leather came into existence, alum began to be used heavily in paper-making, and leather began to be pared thinner; the 19th century, with its vast upsurge in literacy and the demand for books, with its often hasty application of science to technology and with its industrial revolution, saw the introduction of a very long list of materials and techniques which, for the first time, created perishable books. There is a lack of professional specially-trained conservators available to librarians, collectors and curators. Enormous damage can be wreaked upon books by the bookbinder who is not conversant with the principles of scientific conservation. In the vast majority of cases, both rare books and books of permanent value are entrusted, by people who are inadequately prepared to specify, supervise and judge the work to be done, to workers who are even less adequately trained to execute the work consistent with the complexities of science, history and craft. Art conservation is very much more advanced than book conservation. A training program and an education program for librarians and curators are both needed. -- AATA