Conservation and Restoration

With the many varied holdings of the Austrian National Library we are speaking of a cultural inheritance which in its origins spans centuries from the Egyptian papyri through medieval manuscripts up to photographs and digital information carriers, and encompasses a vast amount of material. Because of the influence of the surroundings, storage, and use, all of those materials undergo changes and ageing. The aim is to keep the creations of the past in their physical integrity as authentically as possible and to make them accessible.

By conservation we mean stabilising in its present state a book, a print, or a photograph. For example, damaged book spines are strengthened with new leather, torn paper is reinforced at the back with Japanese paper, and flaking paint layers are consolidated with a suitable adhesive.

A restoration treatment goes beyond mere stabilisation of a damaged object. An attempt is made by operations, such as filling in or retouching, to approach as closely as possible the original appearance of the object and to restore the aesthetic readability of a work.