Book Conservation and Digitization

Book Conservation and Digitization

The Challenges of Dialogue and Collaboration

The successful transmediation of books and documents through digitization requires the synergetic partnership of many professional figures, that have what may sometimes appear as contrasting goals at heart. On one side, there are those who look after the physical objects and strive to preserve them for future generations, and on the other those involved in the digitization of the objects, the information that they contain, and the management of the digital data. These complementary activities are generally considered as separate and when the current literature addresses both fields, it does so strictly within technical reports and guidelines, concentrating on procedures and optimal workflow, standards, and technical metadata. In particular, more often than not, conservation is presented as ancillary to digitization, with the role of the conservator restricted to the preparation of items for scanning, with no input into the digital product, leading to misunderstanding and clashes of interests. Surveying a variety of projects and approaches to the challenging conservation-digitization balance and fostering a dialogue amongst practitioners, this book aims at demonstrating that a dialogue between apparently contrasting fields not only is possible, but it is in fact desirable and fruitful. Only through the synergetic collaboration of all people involved in the digitization process, conservators included, can cultural digital objects that represent more fully the original objects and their materiality be generated, encouraging and enabling new research and widening the horizons of scholarship.
  • Front Cover
  • Front matter
    • Half-title
    • Series information
    • Title page
    • Copyright information
  • Table of contents
    • Illustrations
  • Body
    • Part One. Books as Objects and Their Digitization
      • Chapter 1. Understanding the Artifactual Value of Books
        • The Book as a Black Box
        • The Faceted Concept of the Artifactual Value of Books
          • The Physical Preservation of Books
          • The Concept of Intrinsic Value of Documents
          • The Qualities of Value
          • A Two-Level Value System for Primary Sources in Library and Archive Collections
        • A Framework for the Study of the Book as an Object
        • A Delicate Balance of Meaning and Use
      • Chapter 2. Conservation and Digitization: A Difficult Balance?
        • Losing Evidence
        • Evidence as Tangible Information beyond Texts
        • Modern Book Conservation and the Safeguard of Evidence
        • Conservation for Digitization
        • Digitization for Conservation
        • Transferring Untransferable Features
    • Part Two. Conservation and Digitization in Practice
      • Chapter 3. Conservation towards Large-Scale Digitization at the Vatican Library
        • A Pharaonic Endeavour: The Complete Digitization of the Manuscript Holdings
        • A Healthy Balance between Preservation and Use
        • The Digitization Process
        • Digitization for the Common Advantage of Scholars
      • Chapter 4. Large-Scale Digitization at The National Archives
        • Surrogate Production and Data Creation
        • Building Relationships between Conservation and the Digitization Team
        • Conservation for Digitization
          • Guidelines and “Flag-Up” Approach
          • Conservation Methodology
          • Condition Assessment
        • A Successful Model
      • Chapter 5. British Library/Qatar Foundation Partnership and the Digitization Project: A Case Study about Conservation Processes Within Mass Digitalization of Library Material
        • The Planning Phases
        • The Project’s Workflow
          • Location
          • Assessed by Date / Shelfmark
          • IOR Neg
          • Housing
          • Label
          • Binding Status
          • Binding Style
          • Covering Material
          • Fastening
          • Substrate
          • Media
          • Approximate Dimension
          • Foldout Capture / Number of Foldout / Foldout Dimension
          • Map Flattening Required
          • Maximum Opening Angle
          • Treatment Needed
          • Damage / Treatment
          • Estimated Time
          • Conservation Notes
          • Object Status
          • Treated by / Treatments Date / Treatment Time
          • Conservation Emergency
          • Pre-Return Assessment
        • Conclusions
      • Chapter 6. The Digitization of Medieval Western Manuscripts at Wellcome Collection
        • Curatorial Context
        • Digitization Workflow
          • The Pre-Digitization Survey
          • Post-Digitization Preservation and Conservation Work
          • Long-Term Preservation Program
          • Conservation Treatment Program
          • Research Potential
        • Conclusions
        • Acknowledgements
      • Chapter 7. Caring for the Object during Digitization of Written Heritage: The Strategy of the Herzog August Library Wolfenbuttel
        • Lessons from the Past: New Specifications
        • Development of Suitable Imaging Techniques
        • Assessing the Feasibility for Digitization
        • Technical Limits and Conservation Criteria in Digitization
          • Maximum Opening Angle
          • Hollow or Tight Back, Bands, and Joints
          • Information Loss on Narrow Gutters or Wavy Bookblock
          • Tooled Titles and Metal-Leaf Tooling
          • Fastenings
          • Inks and Colours
          • Extra Large Dimensions
          • Microbial Contamination
          • Ink Corrosion, Acidic Paper
          • Database Entry
        • Facts and Figures
      • Chapter 8. The Great Parchment Book Project
        • Historical Background
        • Physical Condition of the Great Parchment Book
        • The Great Parchment Book Project
        • Conclusions
      • Chapter 9. The Development of the Language of Bindings Thesaurus
        • LoB Workshops
        • Cultural Heritage Documentation
          • Free-Text and Structured Records in a Collection
          • CIDOC-CRM and Integration across Different Collections
          • Semantic Web and SKOS
          • Categorical Description
        • Development of LoB Hierarchies
          • Top Concepts
          • Hierarchies
        • LoB Records
          • URIs and Linked Open Data
          • Example of a Thesaurus Entry
        • Future Work
          • Examples of Use
          • Translation
          • Editorial Control
        • Acknowledgements
      • Chapter 10. Spectral Imaging to Aid Preservation and Conservation of Cultural Heritage
        • Conservation Spectral Imaging in Action
        • Spectral Imaging Utilized for Conservation Purposes
        • Summary
      • Chapter 11. Multispectral Imaging for Special Collection Materials
        • The Archimedes Palimpsest at the Walters Art Museum
        • Sinai Palimpsests in St. Catherine’s Monastery
        • The Syriac Galen Palimpsest at the Vatican Apostolic Library
        • Conservation’s Impact on Multispectral Imaging
    • Part Three. Conservators and Digitization Experts in Dialogue
      • Chapter 12. The Digitization of Manuscripts from the Point of View of a Book Conservator
        • Initiating the Manuscript Digitization Program
        • Successive Manuscript Digitization Projects
        • The Examination and Treatment of Manuscripts before Digitization
        • Incorporating Technical Information in the Online Catalogue
        • The Training of Conservators for Digitization Projects
        • Looking Forward to the Future of Digitization
      • Chapter 13. Implementing Advanced Digital Imaging Research in Cultural Heritage: Building Relationships between Conservators and Computational Imaging Scientists
        • Digital Imaging and Cultural Heritage: A Personal Journey
        • Advanced Digitization and Conservation
          • Case Study 1: The Great Parchment Book
          • Case Study 2: Best Practice in Multispectral Imaging
        • Encouraging Interdisciplinary Dialogue
        • Conclusion
      • Chapter 14. Coda: Concluding Thoughts on Digital Surrogates
  • Back matter
    • Bibliography
    • Index

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