Post by Moses on Oct 21, 2005 7:41:34 GMT -5
(And give a bald-faced lie about where they were found to justify the theft):
oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ/mela/IraqiJewishArchiveReport.htm
The Iraqi Jewish Archive
Preservation Report
October 2, 2003
Background
Rare, historic and modern books, documents and parchment scrolls pertaining to the Iraqi Jewish community were found in the flooded basement of the Iraqi Intelligence (Mukhabahrat) headquarters in Baghdad in early May 2003. Upon removal from the basement, the wet materials (known as the Iraqi Jewish Archive) were packed into sacks and transported to a nearby location where they were partially dried. Dr. Harold Rhode, expert in Middle Eastern and Islamic Affairs, Department of Net Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense, provided a general review and initial sorting of the contents during the retrieval process, after which the materials were placed in 27 metal trunks. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) arranged for the materials to be frozen, which served to stabilize the condition and eliminate further mold growth.
At the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority, conservators from the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) traveled to Baghdad June 20-23 to assess the condition of the materials and develop recommendations for their preservation. The following report outlines the preservation action plan and funding requirements for preserving this important collection.
Description of the Iraqi Jewish Archive
The Iraqi Jewish Archive contains 16th-20th century Jewish rare books, correspondence and document files, pamphlets, modern books, audio tape and parchment scrolls. Languages represented in the Archive include Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Arabic and English (a few items).
The following descriptive information, provided by Hebraic and Arabic area study specialists at the Library of Congress, was gleaned from the photographs taken of the frozen materials in the open trunks. Once the materials are dried and have had the mold remediated it will be possible to provide a clearer and more detailed assessment of the contents.
áî Hebraic materials. The Hebraica includes an eclectic mix of materials, ranging from holiday and daily prayer books, Bibles and commentaries, sections from a damaged Torah scroll, books on Jewish law, as well as children's Hebrew language and Bible primers. The printed books were published in a variety of places, including Baghdad, Warsaw, Livorno, and Venice, and most are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rare works include:
áî the 'Ketubim' volume of the monumental Third Rabbinic Bible that was published in Venice by Giovanni di Gara in 1568; and
áî what appears to be Abraham Brudo's 'Birkat Avraham,' which was published in Venice in 1696.
áî Arabic materials. The Arabic materials include both hand-written and printed items pertaining to the Jewish community of Iraq, some produced by the Jewish community and others from official governmental sources. In addition, there are items that do not appear to have any connection to the Jewish community at all. The materials include:
áî a handwritten document, dated September 5, 1966, which appears to be a request for names for a board of directors of the Jewish community;
áî a school roster Madrasat Furnak (second part unclear) with both male and female names, which dates primarily to August-September 1966-67;
áî a collection that includes the law of the Jewish community #77 for 1931 and the organization of the Jewish community #36 of 1931, published by the Jewish Charitable Organization in 1932;
áî an official Iraqi report to the Minister of Interior (and various directorates) reporting on important events, dated 16/2/2000.
Condition of the Collection
In the haste necessary to quickly gather and secure the collection, materials were packed somewhat haphazardly and the booksɌ text blocks and groups of documents were not aligned to conform to their original shapes. As a result, many gatherings of loose documents and bound text blocks are distorted, crumpled, and similarly damaged. Many boards are detached from their bindings, and it appears that during the weeks that the records were submerged under water the leather covering many books became detached with the result that bare binderɌs board is now exposed. In addition, there are many loose pages and fragments that became disassociated from their original locations. The damage that resulted from handling and packing the wet materials likely can be remedied in most instances, though it will add more time to the project and it will not always be possible to eliminate the evidence of past damage.
After the collection was removed from the water, approximately three weeks elapsed before the collection was frozen, which resulted in varying degrees of mold growth. This may result in some permanent staining, though it does not appear that in most cases the mold was sufficiently advanced that the paper was severely affected or weakened. The books and documents also have numerous rust stains, as a result of contact with the interior of the metal trunk as well as the rusty metal components of the mechanical binders (similar to ring binders) that were used to hold loose documents together.
Overall the collection is in moderate to poor condition. While some pamphlets, books, and document files appear to be intact and complete, many others exist as fragments with loose and/or missing components. There is much physical distortion that can likely be remedied via conservation treatment. Most inks and media appear to be in stable condition -- legible with no evidence of feathering or bleeding -- despite their long period of submersion in water. The exceptions are the inks on the scroll fragments, where there is evidence that ink has bled. The text, however, is still legible.
Preservation Action Plan
The following action plan outlines the steps needed to ensure the collectionÉŒs preservation so it can be made available for future generations. Careful decisions will be required to select treatment options that will minimize costs, yet support the needs for preservation and future use. Further information regarding the preservation steps is provided in Appendix A.
4 Dry the collection to stabilize the condition and halt further damage. (Freeze-drying is complete)
áî Remediate for mold to allow personnel to be able to handle the materials.
áî Determine the contents of the collection, and its historical, archival and curatorial importance.
áî Determine the conservation and reformatting needs of the items within the collection, based on curatorial/archival and preservation assessments.
áî Conserve individual items deemed to have artifactual importance.
áî Conserve to the degree necessary to permit handling and/or duplication of items deemed to have research but not artifactual significance
áî House the collection so it can be stored properly and used in the future.
áî Microfilm materials as appropriate
áî Develop an exhibition
Due to the lack of trained personnel and technical resources presently available in Iraq, as well as the costs and time that would be required to establish the necessary infrastructure and staffing for conserving the collection, the collection has been transferred to the United States to undergo the preservation work in an expeditious, technically qualified and cost efficient manner.
Project Goals and Expectations
On an item by item basis it will be necessary to determine how much treatment should be given to each particular item, based on its relative value, importance, future use and availability of funding. In most cases conservation treatment will not eliminate the evidence of the damage that has occurred, including staining, bleeding inks and distortion. In some cases the improvement will be minimal and in other cases the item will be significantly improved. Overall it is expected that the majority of the collection can be treated so the items will be useable, though given the damage that has been sustained and the number of fragments and detached leaves, some items may be incomplete following treatment.
Project Plan
As Custodian for the Iraqi Jewish Archive, the Coalition Provisional Authority is responsible for ensuring the protection and final disposition of the documents pending election of a sovereign Iraqi government and for fund-raising to support the project fully with non-governmental funds.
The US National Archives and Records Administration will provide the leadership in executing the preservation project and in identifying the subject matter experts who can provide the historical and language knowledge required for assessing the contents and curatorial needs of the Archive. NARA is well equipped to provide leadership and technical oversight and guidance to assure preservation of the Iraqi Jewish Archive. Archival and preservation staff can assure that preservation tasks are carried out in conformance with existing international standards. Under the Economy Act, funds that are donated to other agencies can be transferred to NARA to support the necessary preservation work, which can be carried out under NARA direction. NARA is also well positioned to provide the necessary physical security for the collection.
Resource Requirements
Due to the inaccessibility of the records in their frozen state, as yet there is insufficient information to determine the full cost for completing this project. Before a complete preservation assessment and cost analysis can be developed, vacuum freeze drying, inventory, mold remediation, curatorial assessment and conservation condition assessment must be completed. These first steps are expected to cost $450,000-725,000. For the purposes of providing a general understanding of the costs involved in undertaking the full preservation project, a rough budget estimate for the project as a whole was developed: $1,525,000- $3,000,000. It is important to emphasize that there are still numerous elements that will need to be determined and analyzed before finalizing the budget.
In-kind contributions: NARA will cover overhead costs for administrative functions, lab use, storage and utilities as an in-kind contribution to the project. The US Military provided the courier and transport for the collection to come to the United States.
áî Courier transport to freeze dry facility in the US US Military (In-kind)
áî Commerical vacuum freeze drying, security,
transport to NARA $100,000 - 100,000
áî Mold remediation $200,000 - 400,000
áî Inventory, Curatorial and Conservation Assessment $150,000 - 225,000
Subtotal for First Steps $ 450,000 - $725,000
áî Conservation Treatment $500,000 - 1,000,000
áî Rehousing $25,000 - 25,000
áî Microfilming/Reformatting $300,000 - 700,000
áî Project Oversight $200,000 - 500,000
áî Supplies and equipment $ 50,000 - 50,000
áî Lab facilities, long term storage with security,
utilities at NARA, general oversight NARA (In-kind)
Total Preservation Budget Estimate $1,525,000- $3,000,000
Exhibition To be Determined
oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ/mela/IraqiJewishArchiveReport.htm
The Iraqi Jewish Archive
Preservation Report
October 2, 2003
Background
Rare, historic and modern books, documents and parchment scrolls pertaining to the Iraqi Jewish community were found in the flooded basement of the Iraqi Intelligence (Mukhabahrat) headquarters in Baghdad in early May 2003. Upon removal from the basement, the wet materials (known as the Iraqi Jewish Archive) were packed into sacks and transported to a nearby location where they were partially dried. Dr. Harold Rhode, expert in Middle Eastern and Islamic Affairs, Department of Net Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense, provided a general review and initial sorting of the contents during the retrieval process, after which the materials were placed in 27 metal trunks. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) arranged for the materials to be frozen, which served to stabilize the condition and eliminate further mold growth.
At the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority, conservators from the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) traveled to Baghdad June 20-23 to assess the condition of the materials and develop recommendations for their preservation. The following report outlines the preservation action plan and funding requirements for preserving this important collection.
Description of the Iraqi Jewish Archive
The Iraqi Jewish Archive contains 16th-20th century Jewish rare books, correspondence and document files, pamphlets, modern books, audio tape and parchment scrolls. Languages represented in the Archive include Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Arabic and English (a few items).
The following descriptive information, provided by Hebraic and Arabic area study specialists at the Library of Congress, was gleaned from the photographs taken of the frozen materials in the open trunks. Once the materials are dried and have had the mold remediated it will be possible to provide a clearer and more detailed assessment of the contents.
áî Hebraic materials. The Hebraica includes an eclectic mix of materials, ranging from holiday and daily prayer books, Bibles and commentaries, sections from a damaged Torah scroll, books on Jewish law, as well as children's Hebrew language and Bible primers. The printed books were published in a variety of places, including Baghdad, Warsaw, Livorno, and Venice, and most are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rare works include:
áî the 'Ketubim' volume of the monumental Third Rabbinic Bible that was published in Venice by Giovanni di Gara in 1568; and
áî what appears to be Abraham Brudo's 'Birkat Avraham,' which was published in Venice in 1696.
áî Arabic materials. The Arabic materials include both hand-written and printed items pertaining to the Jewish community of Iraq, some produced by the Jewish community and others from official governmental sources. In addition, there are items that do not appear to have any connection to the Jewish community at all. The materials include:
áî a handwritten document, dated September 5, 1966, which appears to be a request for names for a board of directors of the Jewish community;
áî a school roster Madrasat Furnak (second part unclear) with both male and female names, which dates primarily to August-September 1966-67;
áî a collection that includes the law of the Jewish community #77 for 1931 and the organization of the Jewish community #36 of 1931, published by the Jewish Charitable Organization in 1932;
áî an official Iraqi report to the Minister of Interior (and various directorates) reporting on important events, dated 16/2/2000.
Condition of the Collection
In the haste necessary to quickly gather and secure the collection, materials were packed somewhat haphazardly and the booksɌ text blocks and groups of documents were not aligned to conform to their original shapes. As a result, many gatherings of loose documents and bound text blocks are distorted, crumpled, and similarly damaged. Many boards are detached from their bindings, and it appears that during the weeks that the records were submerged under water the leather covering many books became detached with the result that bare binderɌs board is now exposed. In addition, there are many loose pages and fragments that became disassociated from their original locations. The damage that resulted from handling and packing the wet materials likely can be remedied in most instances, though it will add more time to the project and it will not always be possible to eliminate the evidence of past damage.
After the collection was removed from the water, approximately three weeks elapsed before the collection was frozen, which resulted in varying degrees of mold growth. This may result in some permanent staining, though it does not appear that in most cases the mold was sufficiently advanced that the paper was severely affected or weakened. The books and documents also have numerous rust stains, as a result of contact with the interior of the metal trunk as well as the rusty metal components of the mechanical binders (similar to ring binders) that were used to hold loose documents together.
Overall the collection is in moderate to poor condition. While some pamphlets, books, and document files appear to be intact and complete, many others exist as fragments with loose and/or missing components. There is much physical distortion that can likely be remedied via conservation treatment. Most inks and media appear to be in stable condition -- legible with no evidence of feathering or bleeding -- despite their long period of submersion in water. The exceptions are the inks on the scroll fragments, where there is evidence that ink has bled. The text, however, is still legible.
Preservation Action Plan
The following action plan outlines the steps needed to ensure the collectionÉŒs preservation so it can be made available for future generations. Careful decisions will be required to select treatment options that will minimize costs, yet support the needs for preservation and future use. Further information regarding the preservation steps is provided in Appendix A.
4 Dry the collection to stabilize the condition and halt further damage. (Freeze-drying is complete)
áî Remediate for mold to allow personnel to be able to handle the materials.
áî Determine the contents of the collection, and its historical, archival and curatorial importance.
áî Determine the conservation and reformatting needs of the items within the collection, based on curatorial/archival and preservation assessments.
áî Conserve individual items deemed to have artifactual importance.
áî Conserve to the degree necessary to permit handling and/or duplication of items deemed to have research but not artifactual significance
áî House the collection so it can be stored properly and used in the future.
áî Microfilm materials as appropriate
áî Develop an exhibition
Due to the lack of trained personnel and technical resources presently available in Iraq, as well as the costs and time that would be required to establish the necessary infrastructure and staffing for conserving the collection, the collection has been transferred to the United States to undergo the preservation work in an expeditious, technically qualified and cost efficient manner.
Project Goals and Expectations
On an item by item basis it will be necessary to determine how much treatment should be given to each particular item, based on its relative value, importance, future use and availability of funding. In most cases conservation treatment will not eliminate the evidence of the damage that has occurred, including staining, bleeding inks and distortion. In some cases the improvement will be minimal and in other cases the item will be significantly improved. Overall it is expected that the majority of the collection can be treated so the items will be useable, though given the damage that has been sustained and the number of fragments and detached leaves, some items may be incomplete following treatment.
Project Plan
As Custodian for the Iraqi Jewish Archive, the Coalition Provisional Authority is responsible for ensuring the protection and final disposition of the documents pending election of a sovereign Iraqi government and for fund-raising to support the project fully with non-governmental funds.
The US National Archives and Records Administration will provide the leadership in executing the preservation project and in identifying the subject matter experts who can provide the historical and language knowledge required for assessing the contents and curatorial needs of the Archive. NARA is well equipped to provide leadership and technical oversight and guidance to assure preservation of the Iraqi Jewish Archive. Archival and preservation staff can assure that preservation tasks are carried out in conformance with existing international standards. Under the Economy Act, funds that are donated to other agencies can be transferred to NARA to support the necessary preservation work, which can be carried out under NARA direction. NARA is also well positioned to provide the necessary physical security for the collection.
Resource Requirements
Due to the inaccessibility of the records in their frozen state, as yet there is insufficient information to determine the full cost for completing this project. Before a complete preservation assessment and cost analysis can be developed, vacuum freeze drying, inventory, mold remediation, curatorial assessment and conservation condition assessment must be completed. These first steps are expected to cost $450,000-725,000. For the purposes of providing a general understanding of the costs involved in undertaking the full preservation project, a rough budget estimate for the project as a whole was developed: $1,525,000- $3,000,000. It is important to emphasize that there are still numerous elements that will need to be determined and analyzed before finalizing the budget.
In-kind contributions: NARA will cover overhead costs for administrative functions, lab use, storage and utilities as an in-kind contribution to the project. The US Military provided the courier and transport for the collection to come to the United States.
áî Courier transport to freeze dry facility in the US US Military (In-kind)
áî Commerical vacuum freeze drying, security,
transport to NARA $100,000 - 100,000
áî Mold remediation $200,000 - 400,000
áî Inventory, Curatorial and Conservation Assessment $150,000 - 225,000
Subtotal for First Steps $ 450,000 - $725,000
áî Conservation Treatment $500,000 - 1,000,000
áî Rehousing $25,000 - 25,000
áî Microfilming/Reformatting $300,000 - 700,000
áî Project Oversight $200,000 - 500,000
áî Supplies and equipment $ 50,000 - 50,000
áî Lab facilities, long term storage with security,
utilities at NARA, general oversight NARA (In-kind)
Total Preservation Budget Estimate $1,525,000- $3,000,000
Exhibition To be Determined