The British Library is making over four million images from endangered archives all over the world available online
A new manuscript arrives at Djenne publlic library© Sophie Sarin
Now the pioneering British Library project, which has been all over the world in search of archives at risk of being destroyed, neglected or physically deteriorating, is celebrating ten years of its vital work by making millions of digitised manuscripts freely accessible to the rest of the world through the programme’s website.
Supported by the Arcadia Fund, the projects is also launching a new digital publication called From Dust to Digital: Ten Years of the Endangered Archives Programme, which features a range of notable projects including an ongoing localised effort to archive Islamic manuscripts in Djenné, a sister town of Timbuktu in Mali during periods of violent civil unrest in the area.
Photographing the written legacy of North Eastern India's Ahom Kingdom. The manuscripts are written in Tai Ahom script, which is no longer used in daily life© Dr Stephen Morey
“At a time when wars and civil emergencies too frequently put archives and library collections at risk, the work the Library does to support fellow institutions around the world during and after conflicts is becoming more urgent than ever,” said British Library Chief Executive Roly Keating.
“In the Library’s new vision, Living Knowledge, we stress the importance of our work in this field with our partners, and are therefore delighted to mark 10 years of the Endangered Archives Programme, which we run with the generous support of the Arcadia Fund, and to celebrate the vital work happening in almost 80 countries.”
Work during the past ten years has enabled communities all over the world where resources and opportunities to preserve archives are most limited to locate, preserve and digitise collections, providing local institutions and the British Library with digital copies.
More than four million images are available online via the Endangered Archives Programme website. You can follow the project’s progress on the Endangered Archives blog.
Manuscripts destroyed by water and insect damage in Mizoram, said to be the wettest place on the plant, in northwest India© Dr Kyle Jackson
Talismans on how to be loved. Djenne, Mali© Sophie Sarin
Documents found in the remote hills of Mizoran, India© Dr Kyle Jackson
