Gettng on board: Rebinding three medieval parchment manuscripts as a conservation training project

This paper describes the complex conservation treatment of three medieval parchment manuscripts as a joint training project at the Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford. The background to the project and its importance to the conservation department with respect to maintaining continuity of skills within a changing workforce will be discussed. The binding process will not be described in fine detail for each manuscript, but individual treatment decisions for each manuscript will be discussed where appropriate, the emphasis being more on the learning process than the process of rebinding. The method of working will be described in so far as it illustrates differences between individual and shared learning, and the impact of the project both on the participants and the Book Team as a whole will be evaluated. The Conservation Department is divided into a number of teams, who cover the following activities: preservation, exhibitions, general bookbinding, paper and book conservation of special collections material. The Book and Paper Conservation Teams were formed relatively recently, the Book Team currently having six members, two of whom are on fixed-term contracts. It is a highly collaborative team which carries out a range of conservation treatments, some of which are externally funded. The team also works on exhibitions and preparation for digitisation programmes, and the two fixed-term contracts are extremely valuable in helping to meet the different demands on the section.