Standing in the National Archives in Washington D.C., Tim Barrett places his head inches from one of the most important documents in our country’s history. Hovering, he tilts his head a bit to catch a glimpse of the University of Iowa-made cotton paper that rests under these original parchments. 

The U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Magna Carta all lie on a friendly base provided by Barrett’s team at the University of Iowa Center of the Book. But you would never know it, and that’s just fine with Barrett. 

“I like the anonymous aspect of it. Knowing it’s contributing to the preservation of the human record is what’s really rewarding,” says Barrett, UI associate professor in the School of Library and Information Science and director of papermaking facilities at the Center for the Book. 

As much as Barrett tries, however, he can’t keep a low profile, even outside of his book arts community. 

That realization hit home last February after Barrett was profiled in The New York Times Magazine. The article was titled, “Can a Papermaker Help to Save Civilization?” 

Barrett was flattered to be featured by the country’s third-largest newspaper, and overwhelmed with reader response. 

“I got about 150 e-mail messages from regular folks who didn’t know me. These people wrote that they had no idea people were doing this, but urged me to keep up the good work,” says Barrett, who replied to as many e-mails as possible. “I think they found the article comforting and inspiring. A lot of them were fascinated by papermaking. It’s my hope that a few years down the road, people will know how important it’s been to our society and culture.” 

Barrett, a 2009 MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner, said The New York Times story was his top highlight in a memorable 2012-13 academic year. 

Two days before the Times profile was published, the National Archives unveiled a newly restored and encased 1297 Magna Carta. This historic document, said to have inspired the United States Constitution, rests on cotton paper made by Barrett and his colleagues at the UI's Oakdale Paper Research and Production Facility. 

The only original Magna Carta permanently in the United States—one of 17 Magna Carta documents issued by 13th century kings in existence—was taken off display in 2011 to undergo conservation treatment and to be re-encased.   

In 1999, the National Archives commissioned Barrett and his staff and his graduate students at the UI papermaking facility to fabricate soft, unbleached, acid-free paper on which to lay the parchment originals of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. This same paper was used for the Magna Carta project. 

The paper, crafted from textile quality American-grown cotton, helps enhance the light appearance of the translucent parchment, provides a soft, stable cushion between the document and the perforated metal plate below, and stabilizes the humidity within the encasement. 

“We can take a lot of pride in knowing that the paper was made by the state of Iowa,” Barrett says. 

Through his work at the UI, Barrett routinely demonstrates how human cultures are tied together by paper. 

For example, the Center for the Book hosted Chinese artisans and scholars—guests of Grinnell College—on Sept. 27, 2011 as part of the Grinnell Faulconer Gallery’s exhibit titled From the Book Forest: Commercial Publishing in Late Imperial China.  The Grinnell events focused on Chinese book culture during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and the visitors toured the UI’s papermaking facilities to learn about Barrett’s papermaking and paper analysis research. 

In January 2012, a UI research team, led by Barrett, launched the website Paper Through Time, which shares results of research on 1,578 historical papers made between the fourteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the Kress Foundation, and the University of Iowa, this three-year research project was designed to better understand historical paper composition with the goal of informing modern paper conservation treatment. 

To have such projects culminate in a single academic year brings a quiet smile to Barrett’s face. True to his convictions about the far-reaching power of the humanities to enrich, Barrett says, “The attention I received this past year is minimal compared to the attention it brought to the Center, my colleagues, the students, the University of Iowa, and the state of Iowa.” 

This fall, Barrett will begin his second term as Center for the Book director. He previously served as director from 1996-2002. 

The Center for the Book is set to welcome its second class of MFA candidates. Barrett said 20 students applied for admission into the MFA program during the last cycle with an additional 18 applicants applied to the Center’s certificate programs. 

“The Center was the brainchild of UI English Department faculty member Kim Merker,” Barrett says. ”But the recent success of the Center is manifestation of the courage of a number of university administrators who supported Kim back in 1985. Other administrators and private donors have invested in us since then, and now we are all reaping the benefits of their vision.”