About us
Working with the Special Collections of the Gothenburg University Library involves acquisition, administration and organisation of donations, as well as the creation of inventories, cataloguing, conservation and collection care. Beyond our new acquisitions, we also maintain a wide approach to the retroactive work with our extant collections.
Working with archives and manuscripts
The archivists’ work is both scientific and administrative, and includes the investigation and assessment of which documents to preserve in an archive, as well as the organisation, inventory and care of the archival materials. Archives consist mainly of written documents – analogue as well as digital – such as manuscripts, letters, diaries and minutes, but may come in other forms as well, such as photographs. The main purpose is to preserve information that may be valuable for research purposes, now and in the future. Our archivists also provide advise and service to the patrons and visitors of the University Library.
Cataloguing
The cataloguing of our holdings is constantly underway, including not just newly acquired materials but retroactively of old titles too. Large portions of the university library holdings are significantly older than the library itself, and can be browsed only in manual card catalogues, some of which have been scanned and made available online. The majority of our older collections are catalogued in physical card catalogues, with index cards that are either typewritten or handwritten. Some of our collections are not catalogued at all. Book by book, we enter their records in the national Swedish library system, Libris, and in our local online catalogue, Supersearch.
Cataloguing requires extensive knowledge of, among other things, language, culture, history and social sciences. In order to correctly describe the contents of a book, and by extension that of a collection, it is vital to understand its topics, context and background.
Read more about cataloguing
Bookbinding
Originally, bookbinding was the craft of joining handwritten or printed pages to form a book. These days, the bookbinder’s workshop at the University Library deals mainly with mending books – both bodies and covers, which may be made from a diverse range of materials depending on the age of the book. In addition, the workshop mends manuscripts and many other items from our collections. The work requires a wide range of skills not least concerning various materials and mending techniques, both historical and modern.
Conservation
Conservation of cultural historical items and art objects mainly involves work that aims to prevent and slow down the decomposition of the physical material. It may also involve careful restoration of an object.
Conservation work at the University Library is largely preventative, and includes providing support and advise in connection with the relocation of books and collections, as well as monitoring the climate in our various facilities. In this way, we minimise the risk of pests and mildew issues. In some cases, the conservators clean the materials, or ensure their preservation in other ways. More specific tasks may concern, for example, the handling of books dyed with toxic pigments (mainly arsenic).
The library is actively co-operating with the Department of Conservation at the University of Gothenburg, both regarding research and education. Particular care is awarded materials such as parchment. We regularly receive students from the department as trainees.
Conservation work at the University Library aims to make our collections available, and to secure, long-term, their preservation.
On cultural heritage conservation via Wikipedia.
