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.

Care & Conservation of Manuscripts, Volume 9 - Proceedings of the Eighth International Seminar Held at the University of Copenhagen, 14th to 15th April 2005

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.

"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."

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.

The conservation of skin, leather and related materials is an area that, until now, has had little representation by the written word in book form. Marion Kite and Roy Thomson, of the Leather Conservation Centre, have prepared a text which is both authoritative and comprehensive, including contributions from the leading specialists in their fields, such as Betty Haines, Mary Lou Florian, Ester Cameron and Jim Spriggs. The book covers all aspects of Skin and Leather preservation, from Cuir Bouillie to Bookbindings. There is significant discussion of the technical and chemical elements necessary in conservation, meaning that professional conservators will find the book a vital part of their collection. As part of the Butterworth-Heinemann Black series, the book carries the stamp of approval of the leading figures in the world of Conservation and Museology, and as such it is the only publication available on the topic carrying this immediate mark of authority.

Provides clear examples of projects and studies that have been made regarding current conservation and preservation efforts.

Njáls saga is the best known and most highly regarded of all medieval Icelandic sagas and it occupies a special place in Icelandic cultural history. The manuscript tradition is exceptionally rich and extensive. The oldest extant manuscripts date to only a couple of decades after the saga’s composition in the late 13th century and the saga was subsequently copied by hand continuously up until the 20th century, even alongside the circulation of printed text editions in latter centuries. The manuscript corpus as a whole has great socio-historical value, showcasing the myriad ways in which generations of Icelanders interpreted the saga and took an active part in its transmission; the manuscripts are also valuable sources for evidence of linguistic change and other phenomena. The essays in this volume present new research and a range of interdisciplinary perspectives on the Njáls saga manuscripts. Many of the authors took part in the international research project "The Variance of Njáls saga" which was funded by the Icelandic Research Council from 2011-2013.

Daniel Wakelin introduces and reinterprets the misunderstood and overlooked craft practices, cultural conventions and literary attitudes involved in making some of the most important manuscripts in late medieval English literature. In doing so he overturns how we view the role of scribes, showing how they ignored or concealed irregular and damaged parchment; ruled pages from habit and convention more than necessity; decorated the division of the text into pages or worried that it would harm reading; abandoned annotations to poetry, focusing on the poem itself; and copied English poems meticulously, in reverence for an abstract idea of the text. Scribes' interest in immaterial ideas and texts suggests their subtle thinking as craftspeople, in ways that contrast and extend current interpretations of late medieval literary culture, 'material texts' and the power of materials. For students, researchers and librarians, this book offers revelatory perspectives on the activities of late medieval scribes.