Before attempting to remove marks from books and paper, a conservator assesses the item. He takes into account several aspects, including the value of the item and its overall condition. The conservator must determine whether it is appropriate to repair the item due to its intrinsic or historical value and rarity, or whether it is replaceable. If he determines the book is valuable only for the information it contains, he may decide to preserve the information in another format. It is unlikely a professional conservator will agree to repair a mass market or popular publication, including children's books.
A crayon is a stick of colored wax used in drawing. While most commonly used by children, crayons are artists' tools also. Various waxes, including paraffin and beeswax, and dry pigments are combined during the manufacturing process to create brightly hued sticks. Crayons wear down through abrasion and use on paper and other writing surfaces.
Crayon marks in books occur frequently, especially in books handled by children. When applied to paper, crayons leave a waxy, colored mark on the surface of the paper. The Crayola Company, one maker of crayon products, suggests using a kneaded eraser to gently rub the mark off the paper's surface. Kneaded erasers are made of a malleable rubber that erases without damaging the surface while picking up residue.
A conservator employs a number of tools for removing marks from paper. Various forms of erasers are selected. Kneaded erasers and vinyl erasers are the least abrasive and leave less debris and fewer crumbs to fall into the book's gutter, or binding. The conservator also uses a soft brush to remove loose dirt and eraser crumbs.
Pencil marks and crayon may come up readily with the application of erasers if the mark is not embedded into the paper, or if it has not left a stain. The conservator uses gentle rubbing motions to remove the mark, rubbing softly and randomly from the center of the mark outward to the edge. This prevents further damage to the paper. He examines the paper frequently to ensure that the erase is not marring the finish of the paper. He also brushes the crumbs from the paper frequently, ensuring that crumbs are not entering the spine edge of the book and not becoming sandwiched between the leaves.
Using erasers will smudge pastel, pencil and charcoal drawings. This technique is not recommended for artwork. Removing crayon from photographs through erasing is not appropriate for conservation. Photographic paper, especially old photographs, require very different types of handling techniques and equipment in order to avoid damaging the paper and the image. Photographic conservation encompasses a different field of paper conservation.