CSMC
CSMCCentre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures
Their first measure was to quarantine the items affected by mould and to store them under controlled relative humidity conditions. The major problem caused by moulds is that they spread and contaminate the rest of the collection. Moreover, items cannot be cleaned as long as active moulds are growing on them. Therefore, the participants separated the affected documents from the rest of the collection and dried them in a controlled environment with sufficient air circulation.
Items affected by insects were disinfected through anoxic treatment, a non-toxic treatment for pest control that eradicates insects, including their larvae. For this purpose, books are kept in sealed bubbles under controlled climate with oxygen absorbers for several weeks.
The cleaning process could start only once these steps were completed. In this stage, the surfaces of the documents were thoroughly treated with soft brushes or a specific vacuum cleaner. Meanwhile, the storage room was rearranged and equipped to warrant the long-term preservation of the documents. In particular, the participants installed data loggers to monitor the environmental conditions in the room in the future. After a thorough check of the room, the relocation of items could commence. Fragile items were placed in appropriate folders and boxes.
After months of intensive work, our trainees and the team at the mosque could eliminate the immediate threat to the document collections and create long-term conditions for preserving the collection on-site. In the future, these important documents will also be accessible to researchers.
