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Similarly, the slides I took on our honeymoon are deteriorating. Colors are fading, black is starting to form around the edges of the negative (actually "positive" in the case of slides) even though they are in "archival mounts", dust specs are on them even though they are stored in good boxes. About 20 years ago (?) I bought a slide/negative scanner and digitized them. Those digitized copies are still in the exact same shape they were when the digitization was done. And I can retouch and improve the digital copies myself using GIMP or Photoshop. I don't personally have the skills to try and repair the original slides. I could hire that out, probably at significant expense, but I'll bet the results would be inferior to what I can do myself in GIMP. Besides, I don't even know where my slide projector is. Chances are it would need a new bulb (probably unavailable). And additional carousels to hold the slides. I wonder where in the heck my roll down slide screen is? Mice have probably eaten it by now.
Paper books are not as fragile as as photographic negatives (or slides). However, paper books do deteriorate. And once they do deteriorate, you can't bring them back to pristine condition. About the best you can do is handle them gently so they don't continue deteriorating as fast. You will never stop further deterioration though. Only slow it, if you are lucky.
If I really wanted to plan for something to last forever, I'd want it digitized, not in it's original paper form. Paper would be better (in the short term) if the big EMP hits us and we are blasted back to the stone ages with no electricity or electronic devices for the rest of eternity. Paper books would make it through that initial event. But they would still deteriorate and disappear eventually. I end up living in the stone ages, I think I might have other priorities. Like "not dying" before I could even finish reading my first book.
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