Aims and objectives
The Umberto I Library and Archive in Cairo was established by the Italian Charity Association in 1903. Its collections include 22,000 objects of historical and unique personal material, including books, records, photographs, paintings, documents, stamps, newspapers and magazines. Written in several different languages (English, Italian, French and Arabic), this varied material was donated to the library by the European communities that lived in Egypt in the 18th and 19th century. This library collection was stored in an enclosed space for many years without controlled environmental conditions. This was not suitable or ideal for the material and has led to severe deterioration. For this project, a portion of the collection has been selected for rescue, preservation and digitisation.
Outcomes
In the Preservation and digitization of the endangered collection of Umberto I Library
and Archive in Cairo, Egypt project supported by the British Library's Endangered
Archival Collection Programme (EAP), we have achieved the following aims:
- Surveying, Documentation, and Indexing of the (2295) objects of historical, rich, rare
and endangered collections (books, photographs, paintings, documents, stamps,
newspapers and magazines) from date back (1719- 1994). - Assessment of the condition of endangered (1069) objects from date back
(1818-1950). - Temporary Preserving the endangered (1069) objects from date back (1818-1950).
- Digitization of the (3538) Digital Files created with format tiff, as 'samples' of objects
of historical, rich, rare and endangered collections (books, photographs, paintings,
documents, stamps, newspapers and magazines) from date back (1890-1994).
Related Countries of the collection: Egypt; Italy; United Kingdom; France; Germany;
Palestine.
Related Subjects of the collection: Art; History; Sports and recreation; Folklore;
Agriculture; Poetry; Health and Medicine; Travel; Architecture; Anthropology; Biography;
Correspondence; letters; Micellaneous documents; Society; Environment; Water; Irrigation;
Registers; Psychotherapy; Social sciences; Antiquities; Nile River; Medical jurisprudence.
Languages of the collection: French; Italian; Arabic; English; German; Turkish; Hebrew.
The following methodology report was submitted as part of the project's outputs:
