Timothy Barrett received a B.A. (1973) from Antioch College and undertook training in papermaking at Twinrocker Handmade Paper (1973-1975), the Saitama Prefecture Paper Industry Research Station in Japan (1975-1977), and Western Michigan University (1982-1985). He served as director of the University of Iowa Center for the Book from 1996 to 2002, where he is currently a research scientist and adjunct professor.