Judging a Book by its ... SMELL???

There's a certain smell to old books and a new study argues that the smell could help in preservation.

The smell of old books is a result of volatile organic compounds released as paper ages. 15 organic compounds were identified to track books condition. As of now, age-testing requires snipping pieces of the paper for testing. If this new method is developed, a hand-held model would allow for a noninvasive analysis.