He was born in California in 1934 as an only child, and was drawn to fine printing techniques, a skill not offered in colleges and universities.
Banks studied at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh before working in book production and typography in New York City for Viking Press and Clark & Way from 1956–1960.
In 1971, the Newberry Library Conservation Laboratory was established with Banks as the Director; he continued in this capacity until he left in 1981.
"[4] The Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award was established to honor Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris, by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association.
Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa, Mooring A Field: Paul N. Banks and the Education of Library and Archives Conservators (Ann Arbor: Legacy Press, 2019).