"This collection of articles discusses how to preserve and conserve old manuscripts for the future and will be of particular interest to research librarians. Topics include: an investigation of the use of laser in paper conservation; digitization as part of the museum preservation program; the electronic catalogue of the Manuscripts Department in the National Library of Russia: its concept, structure and use for research; and fundamental reflections on thefts and mutilation of maps from university and national libraries in Europe."

Care & Conservation of Manuscripts 2 - Proceedings of the Second International Seminar Held at the University of Copenhagen 16-17 October 1995

"Care and Conservation of Manuscripts" is committed to the study of various aspects of manuscript conservation, preservation, and use, as well as to other related issues concerning the history of books and manuscripts. The series is based on seminars held at the University of Copenhagen. This volume contains twenty contributions by formidable scholars in the field, covering a rich array of issues with examples including the scientific analysis and conservation treatment of the Archimedes Palimpsest; The collapse of the Cologne Historical Archive; The 17th-century florilegium Gottorfer Codex; early Greek printed books from unknown local archives; Digitising Greek manuscripts; and devising assessment strategies for the British Library s treasures. "

Care & Conservation of Manuscripts 4 - Proceedings of the fourth international seminar held at the University of Copenhagen 13th-14th October 1997

This volume of Care and Conservation of Manuscripts offers: discussions of the history of collection care at the National Library of Iceland * the preservation of medieval parchments at the National Archives of Sweden * the creation of a database for the administration of the manuscript library in the Prague Castle archives * and an optimized work-flow system for a large-scale condition survey of the books in the Library of the St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, Egypt.

Contents: R.I. Page: The research group on manuscript evidence: Some approaches and discoveries; Nicholas Hadgraft: The significance of the archaeology of the book in the context of conservation work; Søren Carlsen: aspects of documentation and conservation; Peter Springborg: The work of conservation at the Arnamagnæan Institute; Sigurgeir Steingrimsson: The care of manuscripts in the Arni Magnusson Institute in Iceland; Ögmundur Helgason: A brief account of the conservation of manuscripts and old printed books in the National Library of Iceland; Programme for the seminar; List of participants; Colour plates; Illustrations; Index of manuscript.

Through the application of scientific methods of analysis to a corpus of medieval manuscripts found in the Cairo Genizah, this work aims to gain a better understanding of the writing materials used by Jewish communities at that time, shedding new light not only on the production of manuscripts in the Middle Ages, but also on the life of those Jewish communities.

This collection, presented to Michael Friedrich in honour of his academic career at of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, traces key concepts that scholars associated with the Centre have developed and refined for the systematic study of manuscript cultures. At the same time, the contributions showcase the possibilities of expanding the traditional subject of ‘manuscripts’ to the larger perspective of ‘written artefacts’.

Much work is required to ensure the well-being of the manuscripts in the care of libraries, archives and other collections. The international seminars held in Copenhagen provide a good opportunity for conservators, archivists, librarians and those who work with manuscripts to meet and discuss their problems. Care and Conservation of Manuscripts 8 examines wooden bindings, the manufacture of parchment, the conservation of embroidered bindings, the study of paint layers, the restoration of heat-damage parchment, binding decoration and hand tools for Ottoman period manuscripts, biomonitoring of rare books and documents, German stamped bindings, new recipes for the conservation of leather and parchment, as well as codicology and palography. The book is well illustrated and contains references and a list of manuscripts.