The Secret Libraries of History

The Secret Libraries of History. Fiona Macdonald. BBC.com. 19 August 2016.
     Religious or political pressures have meant that books have been hidden throughout history – whether in secret caches or private collections. This article looks at libraries that have been preserved over time, either to keep them hidden, or because of neglect.

• Syria’s secret library currently beneath the streets of a suburb of Damascus
• The Library Cave on the edge of the Gobi Desert in China, sealed for almost 1000 years.
• The Vatican Secret Archives with papal correspondences going back over 1000 years,
• The Cairo Genizah in a wall of the Ben Ezra synagogue containing almost 280,000 Jewish manuscript fragments from the ninth to the nineteenth centuries
• A Hidden Medieval Archive found in papers used in binding medieval books

[Note: This is a good reminder of what it is we are trying to do, to keep important content for future generations. Chris]

Digital Preservation Matters.