Library paste

Description

A thick, white, water soluble, sweet-tasting adhesive that was commonly used in libraries and schools for paper and cardboard. Library paste is usually made from dextrin, a water-soluble modified starch. Some formulations may contain starch, gum arabic and bone glue. Library paste was sold in jars, with an applicator attached to the inside of the lid. By the end of the 20th century, library paste was no longer commonly used and often difficult to obtain.

Authority

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• Irving Skeist, Handbook of Adhesives, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, 1977

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000