Conservation

Collection Care

Conservation studio

The conservation studio (of paper and books) and binding was put into operation on the ground floor of the Library “Zosimaia” in 1995.

Old and rare books, archival documents, maps, prints, etc. from the collection of the Library “Zosimaia”, have been restored. Church books, especially Gospels and post-incunabula of the monasteries of the region, have been preserved. In the studio we have, also, sewn old and rare books (mostly Byzantine binding) using all the modern methods of technology.

At the same time, the studio used to operate as a creative center where children of primary schools had the opportunity to become familiar with the tools and equipment, to the art of bookbinding, the different types of leather and paper and the different methods of binding. They, also, had the chance to create their own paper.

The operation of the conservation studio was suspended in September 2012.

Annual Maintenance Work

Every year, in August, which is the period with the lowest number of visits, cleaning and preservation of all the printed material, old and new, is carried out, by the library staff or under their supervision.