The Conservation of the Library of the St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai

Because of the number of objects involved, the conservation of large medieval manuscript collections demands careful planning. In the case of St. Catherine's Monastery, the remote location (the desert of Sinai), the lack of information about many of the manuscripts and its active religious life make conservation management more difficult. A methodology has been developed to record the condition and structures of the manuscripts. Combining this methodology with the possibilities of modern computer database systems will greatly assist the development of a management plan for the conservation of the library, firstly by allowing an enhanced understanding of the books in the collection, which in turn will:

a) allow the prioritisation of books according to damage,
b) identify objects in need of similar conservation treatment,
c) quantify the conservation work needed, which will allow a more accurate estimation of resource requirements and costs.

The St. Catherine library conservation project, based at the Camberwell College of Arts, illustrates how management choices can be made based on research results.

• Organisation