Analysis and Treatment of the JC Hanks Manuscript Collection
Loading...
Date
2018-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Medieval manuscript codices, fragments, documents, and leaves are valuable additions to any library's special collections department. Their inherent qualities categorize them somewhere between public use collections and museum-like artifacts. Their complex existence in a library setting and physical characteristics can cause innumerable difficulties in processing. Institutions across the globe approach these materials in a variety of manners, but in all cases manuscript access and preservation is a necessary, challenging, and unique process from other collection items. This research focuses on a group of fifty-four medieval legal documents, purchased by a local manuscript collector, which were recently put on long term deposit in the Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections Rare Books and Manuscripts Library (RBML). No information regarding provenance was available upon purchase, and no work towards cataloging these documents had been accomplished preceding this project, providing a ripe opportunity to engage in incorporating these materials into the RBML. This research sought to analyze and assess the characteristics and efficiency of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library as it relates to this specific group of documents and overall special collection access. In addition, this research underlined the importance of collection care by conducting a condition assessment of these documents and proposing a strategy for preservation via remedial treatment.
Description
Keywords
Library Sciences, Medieval Manuscripts, Parchment Conservation, Special Collections, Access