of Timbuktu
Training workshop in Djenné supported by Gerda Henkel Foundation
19 January 2017, by Webmaster
From the 15th to the 19th of January 2017, Michaelle Biddle, collection conservator and head of preservation services in the Wesleyan University Library, conducted a hands-on training on paper humidification and leaves separation for the curators of the Djenné Manuscript Library. The workshop was organised by Maria Luisa Russo who also assisted in teaching the training courses. The workshop was a follow up on the courses taught by Michelle Biddle in the Library in November 2015. This time, the training focussed on more specialised topics, including different methods of humidification used for separation of paper leaves stuck together. These methods were demonstrated on a set of manuscripts selected from the Library’s collections. The experience acquired during the workshop will allow the library team to apply more sophisticated methods of preservation to the manuscript collections in Djenné.