This incredibly valuable tool was inspired by the Traveling Scriptorium originally created by Marie-France LeMay and the Department of Conservation in Yale’s Beinecke Library. They also discussed how ink and decorative material was created and applied using the Traveling Scriptorium, which was created by them in partnership with Professor Vera Keller of the History Department. They brought samples of vellum, which included the prepared skins of pig, sheep, cows, etc. The Library’s conservators, Marilyn Mohr and Ashlee Weitlauf, also contributed their vast knowledge about the artifact and the challenges to preserve them. Hutterer (right) reviewing a Book of Hours with students. She covered the process of how a Medieval manuscript was made, the creation of ink and vellum, the scribes who wrote the text, the illustrators who decorated the items, the Latin text and the evolution of hand-written scripts over time. Hutterer led the class in an overview of the Medieval period and focused on the issues of artifact production. Students completed an evaluation form that incorporated a variety of criteria falling into three main headers: Value of the artifact and its information, Cost factors to catalog and service the items, and Operational/Political implications of the acquisition.
The current theories of archival appraisal were also covered to assist students with two main assignments to evaluate SCUA’s current holdings and evaluate potential items to acquire. Students were provided case studies, based on real-life events, relating to theft of historic artifacts, the impact of acquisitions on special collections operations, and conflicts of interest in acquisitions, and cultural patrimony.Īssigned readings and formal lectures also focused on acquisitions policies, cataloging of manuscript books, and search strategies in various online catalogs for discovery of medieval manuscripts. The course activities began with a review and assessment of ethical standards developed by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of American (ABAA) and the Rare Book and Manuscript Section of the American Library Association. The ultimate goal of the course was to have students select items for purchase, thus leaving a lasting legacy of their hands-on engagement with the collection. We reviewed these curatorial responsibilities with the ultimate purpose of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the SCUA collection and to identify items available for purchase in the antiquarian marketplace to fill gaps in the SCUA holdings. They often have multiple responsibilities including among others collection acquisition, reference, instruction, and outreach. Curators focus on published and/or unpublished formats such as rare, printed material (rare book curators), textual or visual materials (manuscript curators or photograph curators), or subject areas (Pop Culture, Graphic Arts, Modern Languages). The class focused on the theory and practice of curatorial work in a Library Special Collections and engaged students in the history of the Medieval period and the production of the manuscript book up to 1500 AD.Ĭurators are content specialists who oversee and interpret a cultural heritage institution’s collection. The class was offered through the Art History Department and fulfilled credits for the Certificate in Museum Studies program.
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Maile Hutterer and I taught a class that focused on Medieval manuscripts. Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) GRADUATE STUDENTS AS CURATORS: MEDIEVAL and RENAISSANCE MANUSCRIPT ACQUISITION
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