Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
A manuscript is a handwritten document. It contains thousands of years of information. There are so many unrecognized histories of the year is hidden in these manuscripts. For that reason, we need to preserve and conserve this treasure of knowledge. There are numerous study has been done which deal with preservation and conservation of manuscripts of many regions. As we all know that Bengal has a rich heritage of literature, so it is our liability to protect that precious information from decay or damage, which is in the form of manuscripts. Hence, a study named " Safeguarding the Indigenous Knowledge from Past: a Case Study in Kolkata Region” has been carried out. This study covers seven out of ten centers that deal with manuscripts. In this article, we want to portray the existing preservation and conservation approach followed by the Manuscript libraries in the Kolkata region, and suggest possible solutions for the betterment of the situation. In this study we find that Asiatic Society Kolkata has the majority of the manuscript collection among all the centers in Kolkata region. For preservation purpose most of the centers use brushing method, naphthalene bricks, some indigenous methods, spraying insecticide in monthly basis etc. Lastly, this study finds that for conservation of manuscripts, deacidification, fumigation with paradichlorobenzene, and some commonly used preventive conservation methods are used.