History
In the 1980s and 1990s it became increasingly clear that an important part of the Dutch paper heritage was slowly wasting away as a result of acidification. Partly through public campaigns carried out by a number of heritage institutions, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science decided that the time had come to deal with the problem of paper decay, both nationally and structurally. In 1997, Metamorfoze, the first national preservation programme, was launched.
Since then three phases of the Metamorfoze programme have been completed. During those years, more than three hundred preservation projects were carried out by almost one hundred Dutch heritage institutions. The fourth phase of the programme will run from 2009 to 2012. It is expected that after 2012 the programme will continue for several more years.
