This paper examines the survey results of historical paper materials and their methods for conserving original resources at the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo.
At the University of Tokyo, original resources are mainly treated as book collections at libraries including the general library, faculties' library, and institutes' libraries, and categorised as valuable books or originals. These resources have been used for education and research materials and shown as cultural properties from the viewpoint of their scarcity value. In so doing, they are now required to manage new conservations and surveys. In any conservation survey microscopic observations are usually conducted. In the preliminary studies a small mobile microscope with 100 times magnification was used for examining the thickness and density of fibres, the existence and quantity of additives, and the conditions of other materials. These surveys are essentially non-destructive, and presented new standard for distinguishing paper materials accurately. In recent years, USB digital cameras for microscopy and lenses of megapixel cameras have rapidly been upgraded, and researchers are able to gain distortion-free and high-definition images easily.