SMELLBOOK REFERENCE · SB-0028
Library
Permanent ID: smellbook: · updated 2026-10-06, revision 6
Character EDITORIAL
A library smells dry and quiet, with paper, old wood, dust and a faint softness from carpet and upholstery.
Words: paper, dry, woody. Families: Temperature and texture, Wood, earth and stone, Animal, material and lived-in.
Met in: Library, School.
Evidence
Scientific evidence
- Old-book aroma and paper degradation volatiles (CLM-OLDBOOK-001). Matija Strlič et al., Material Degradomics: On the Smell of Old Books, Analytical Chemistry, 2009.
- Documenting the smell of historic books (CLM-HISTORICBOOK-001). Cecilia Bembibre & Matija Strlič, Smell of heritage: a framework for the identification, analysis and archival of historic odours, Heritage Science, 2017.
- Known volatile degradation products of paper (CLM-OLDBOOK-002). Matija Strlič et al., Material Degradomics: On the Smell of Old Books, Analytical Chemistry, 2009.
Molecules named in these claims: acetic acid, furfural. A molecule listed here is named in a VERIFIED claim about this smell. It is not presented as the cause of the smell; each claim says what its source supports.
Cite
SmellBook. (2026). Library (revision 6, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:library. https://smellbook.com/smells/library
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