'What do old books smell like?' Preserving smells as important cultural heritage
A 'Historic Book Odour Wheel' has been developed to document and archive the aroma associated with old books. Researchers created the wheel as part of an experiment in which they asked visitors to St. Paul's Cathedral's Dean and Chapter library in London to characterize its smell. Ref. Source 6s.
This is one of the reasons I can never get into the eBook craze. Holding and smelling old books contributes to the reading experience. I've held manuscripts from 200 years ago, and imagining how people put time and effort into the binding makes me feel like I'm holding a piece of history.