Storage and repair of parchment scrolls

Cambridge University Library houses a Cathedral collection of
medieval parchment that is very degraded through damp and mildew. In
some cases it is so poor that you can hardly recognise the material
as parchment. The material includes rolls up to 4 m long, a number
have been conserved in the distant past; some by traditional methods
of parchment and silk, some with western paper. Neither method has
worked in favour of the original. We are looking for ways to
consolidate and support this very fragmented material. In this
collection there are some 400 scrolls. The future storage is also
under debate. We are open to suggestions on how to preserve the
material so it is accessible to researchers and would welcome any
advice.

Svetlana Taylor
Department of Conservation
Cambridge University Library
Cambridge CB3 9DR

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:90
                   Distributed: Tuesday, May 25, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-90-012
                                  ***