Success stories: user spotlights
Preservation and Access for Lehigh University’s 15th and 16th Century Illuminated Manuscripts

The OCLC Preservation Service Center in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) has recently been trusted with the preservation and digitization of three rare manuscripts. In the earlier project Lehigh University Libraries asked for security copies of two rare 15th century Italian antiphonals. A researcher in Italy had specifically requested to receive a high-quality microfilm copy of the rare volumes. These Latin manuscripts are bound in vellum and contain the text and music for sung responses in a Christian church service with striking illuminations and gilt pages depicting liturgical scenes. The manuscripts measure 17 x 13 x 4 inches (43.18 x 33.02 x 10.16 cm) and 25 x 18 x 3 inches (63.5 x 45.72 x 7.62 cm).

OCLC Preservation Service Center recommended filming the volumes on 35mm continuous tone film (CTF) in order to capture the widest range of background fades and illustrations in a single exposure. CTF produced superior results. The text was clear and legible, faint lines and stems of musical notations were visible, and the illustrations were crisp and detailed.

Due to the rareness and importance of these volumes, a member of the project management staff attended the microfilming. Filming was paused periodically so that the sewn bindings could be checked for signs of stress. The very thick and fragile bindings were accommodated by using a custom-built oversized book cradle to provide support to the volumes during filming. Both volumes withstood filming exceedingly well.

OCLC Preservation Service Center will store the print masters in the Print Master Storage Vault for future duplication requests.

In a second project OCLC digitized a 16th Century Book of Hours of the Paris Use, also a vellum manuscript with four richly illustrated miniatures and many illuminated letters. This small prayer book measures about 7 x 5 inches (17.78 x 12.7 cm) and most pages are decorated to the very edge with a floral design. After careful analysis of the various options it was determined to scan this manuscript in a glass-top cradle that was adjusted to minimum pressure and allowed to gently hold the book open on the copy stand under the Phase One FX digital camera used for this project. This was the best way to capture the book without covering any of the rich illustrations while paying utmost attention to minimize stress on the binding.

The OCLC Preservation Service Center has supported this and other digital access projects for illuminated manuscripts initiated by Lehigh University. As of July 2004, two rare books were scanned and are being added to the Pennsylvania Digital Library of Illuminated Manuscripts. The Digital Library intends to present illuminated manuscripts from institutions within Pennsylvania, particularly those holding only one or a few of these documents.