April 2013
The Historical Archives of the
Red Castle - Tripoli
Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss sssswzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzxxxxxxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xx xxx xxx
+
Reconditioning
Photographic Archive
Sanitising
Cartographic Archive
Restoration
Library of Antiquities
Cataloguing
Antiquity Archive (excavations)
Digitization
Consultation
Archive of Archeological Missions
1
April 2013
Current use of rooms within the Red Castle
The Red Castle houses a notable quantity of documents that require a wide range of
interventions: from the Reconditioning, Sanitising, Restoration, Cataloguing, and
Digitization to the provision of online and offline Consultation. The castle itself is in need
of essential interventions in order to respect the security norms for the conservation of
historical documents.
2
April 2013
The problem of humidity coming up from the foundations
Given the state of decay of the structure damaged by the serious phenomena of humidity /
moisture rising from the foundations which is present in the rooms dedicated to conserving
the historical archives, we need to ask ourselves “Is the Red Castle is truly suitable for this
strategic purpose?
In response to this doubt, there is only one answer: The rooms in the Red Castle that
currently host the archives basically do not respond to the norms for a correct
conservation of paper and photographic material but, at the same time, this historical
container absolutely must be able to conserve this extremely important documentary
patrimony.
To overcome this contradiction it will be necessary to intervene immediately on the castle,
removing the water from its foundations which is causing the rising humidity. In order
to accomplish this, we need not start from scratch, but rather begin from the results and
the recommendations taken from the project “Refurbishing and enhancement of the Red
Castle of Tripoli – Feasibility study and personnel training (Law number 212/92)””.
3
April 2013
Photographic Archive
Location and dimensions of the archive
 In the Red Castle, the Photographic Archive occupies a space of 170 sq.
meters.
 The Photographic Archive preserves approx.. 10,000 plates, 30,000 prints
and 800 rolls of negatives.
4
April 2013
Environmental conditions and conservation structure

There is a problem with humidity coming up from the foundations in the area where
the photo archives are held.
 The photos show no presence of shelving in the archive, while the containers are
scattered about the room(s).
1. The Registers are preserved in old binders
that are in poor condition.
i
5
April 2013
2. The method currently used in
preserving the plates.
3. The method currently used to
preserve the negatives and prints
“all’albume” .
6
April 2013
Digitization and Cataloguing
 The original documents have never been transformed into digital images.
 There is no cataloguing which describes each individual piece, while at
the same time there is a consistency in the Series which is reported in
paper registers (not computerized). Here is an example of the method of
registering the individual Series:
Le Serie che compongono
Negativi
Sabratha
100
Films
il Fondo Fotografico
Lastre
1570
7
Stampe
21
“Albume”
Dimensioni
2.5 × 2.25 m (Plates)
2.0 × 1.25 m (“Albume”)
April 2013
Cartographic Archive
Location and dimensions of the archive
 In the Red Castle the Cartographic Archive occupies a space of 160 sq
metres and this area is insufficient to preserve all of the material.
 The Cartographic Archive preserves around 10,000 cards.
8
April 2013
The Office of
Drawings
Environmental conditions and conservation structure
 The office where the cards are kept is seriously affected by the humidity
coming from the foundations..
 All of the cards are held in wooden cases marked with the name of the
locality (Tripoli, Sabratha, Leptis Magna, Bengasi …etc).
 The first reconnaissance estimates that around 60% of the cards require
restoration work.
Examples of cards in poor condition
9
April 2013
Digitization and Cataloguing
 The documents have never been transformed into digital images.
 There is no cataloguing which describes each piece, while at the same
time the consistency of the components is reported in the computerized
paper registers.
Example of registration of the single Series:
The parts that constitute the
Cartographic Collection
Sabratha
The oldest register
Number of cards Number of cards
in good
in poor condition
200
300
condition
The current register
10
Dimensions of the
pieces
2.5 ×3 m
April 2013
Library
of
Antiquities
Location and dimensions of the archive
 In the Red Castle, the Library of Antiquities occupies 400 sq. metres.
 The Library of Antiquities preserves approximately 45,000 books under
17,000 titles.
11
April 2013
 The Library of Antiquities
Environmental conditions and conservation structure
 The area where the books are kept is
seriously affected by the humidity
which is coming from the foundations.
 An example of a book in poor condition.
 Approximately 40% of the books
require restoration.
12
April 2013
Digitization and Cataloguing
 There is a complete (paper) card file. The list of volumes is reported in
registers, but there is no existing computerized file.
The single Series that constitute the Collection
Numero Libri
Dimensioni
Africa Moderna
292
2.5x3 m
An example of a completed catalogue card
13
April 2013
Antiquity Archive
(Excavations)
Location and dimensions of the archive
 The Antiquity Archive (excavations) is located in the Libyan Center of
Archives and Historic Studies.
 The Antiquity Archive (excavations) contains approximately 30 meters of
binders.
14
April 2013
Name of
Collezione
Excavations
Total number
Number of binders in
Dimensions
320
100
30 m
of binders
poor condition
State of the art Digitization and Cataloguing
 No intervention is in act in
these documents.
Example of a file
15
April 2013
Example of a file
Environmental conditions and conservation structure
Two examples of documents in very bad condition.
16
April 2013
Archive
of
Archeological Missions
Location and dimensions of the archive
 The Archive of Archeological Missions is located
inside the Red Castle.
 The Archive of Archeological Missions is composed
of around 100 binders.
State of the Art Digitization and Cataloguing
 No intervention is in act in these documents.
Example of Registration of the Series
The single Series
La missione dell’Universita’ Roma Tre
Number of
Binders
5
17
Number of binders in
poor condition
no one
April 2013
Planning Proposal
This study limits itself to: defining “state of the art” of individual archives; identifyin and
listing the problems; and identifying the roles of professionals whose main priority in the
intervention is to define, in detail, the work that must be carried out. The project also
takes on the responsibility of defining the group of experts, suggesting even the names of
the experts and relative fees.
We estimate the need of a team of 5 experts who, after a reconnaissance of approx. 10
days inside the Red Castle of Tripoli, will be able to proceed over a 3 month period in
editing the executive project.
The financial commitment is estimated to be around € 25,000 (compensation for 4
experts, travel expenses, hotel and living allowances etc)
18
April 2013
1. COORDINATION
Project Area
Photographic Archive
Methodological proposals
Cartographic Archive
Sanitizing
Antiquity Archive (excavations)
Consultation
Library of Antiquities
Archive of Archeological Missions
Computerizing
Documents preserved in Italy
2. ARCHIVIST
Ambito progettuale
Photographic Archive
Proposte metodologiche
Cartographic Archive
Defining the Structure of the Card catalogue
Antiquity Archive (excavations)
Designing training modules for local personnel
Library of Antiquities
Archive of Archeological Missions
Procedure for Reconditioning
Documents preserved in Italy
3. EXPERT IN PAPER RESTORATION
Ambito progettuale
Proposte metodologiche
Photographic Archive
Procedure for Sanitizing
Library of Antiquities
Designing training modules for local personnel
Cartographic Archive
Restoration Project
4. EXPERT IN DIGITIZATION AND DATABASE CREATION
Ambito progettuale
Proposte metodologiche
Photographic Archive
Cartographic Archive
Library of Antiquities
Antiquity Archive (excavations)
Archive of Archeological Missions
Documents preserved in Italy
Digitization Project
Project: Computerizing the cards related to the
photos, drawings etc.
Designing training modules for local personnel
19
April 2013
RECONDITIONING AND CATALOGUING Project
The expert, in course of the reconnaissance stage in the Red Castle, needs to carry out a
series of interventions coordinated between themselves.
1. The expert must define the project of reconditioning each document type, in
order to be able to define the quantity and size of the binders and boxes needed to
store them.
2. For each series to be repaired, the informative content which will be printed on
the labels of the binder spine needs to be defined.
3. For each series of the various archives, we need to define: the structure of the card
catalogue and the related practices / procedures for filling them out, together with
the contents of the module for training local personnel in implementing a
computerized cataloguing system:
A. PLATES
B. PRINT
C. ROIL OF NEGATIVES
D. CARTOGRAPHY
E. SURVEY (LAND SURVEY)
F. BOOK
G. MAGAZINE
H. REPORT
I. ………
20
April 2013
SANITIZING AND RESTORATION Project
The expert, in course of the reconnaissance stage in the Red Castle, needs to carry out a
series of interventions coordinated between themselves.
1- After having assessed the exact number of pieces which require intervention, the
expert must fill out the Restoration cards, one for each category of intervention, in
relation to the poor condition of the cartography, books, and prints which are
present in the archives.
2- The expert must define the spaces and the equipment needed in order to create a
Restoration Laboratory where several local workers can proceed with the
restorations after having completed a Training course in restoring works on paper
of which the contents will be outlined by the expert.
3- For interventions on documents that have not yet been affected by the serious
phenomena of deterioration, the expert must define the procedure for sanitizing
them by means of dust removal and dehumidification.
21
April 2013
Title………………………………………………………“Minutes of the Council meeting”
Date……………………………………………………..1844, 1845
Quantity……………………………………………….2
Type of restoration………………………………total restoration
Restoration of binding………………………………………total restoration (binding and paper)
Description of the volume and State of Conservation:
Binding:…………………………………………………limp vellum
Cover:……………………………………………………paper-paper board
State of conservation:………………………… sufficient
Sewing: …………………………………………………four single-station supported
Core:………………………………………………………alum-tawed skin
Condition of sewing:……………………………..very bad / poor
Paper: the pages are very dirty and dusty with the presence of cockling/ distorsions on the margins. Broken
head support in alum tawed skin. Back paste down broken as a result of the physical broken support in the book
from 1844.
In the book dated 1845 the pages have more or less the same characteristics (dust and dirt); presence of a tear
at the head of the book between the back endleaves and the last manuscript paper of the text block / flyleaf. On
both books, the covers are stained from oxidation and browned.
Restoration
General characteristics of the intervention
Type of restoration:
Binding: no dismounting/ disbinding required
Paper: 1. Surface dry cleaning (scalpel and brush) 2. Flattening 3. Stain removal 4. Regluing 5. Repairing
gaps and tears.
22
April 2013
DIGITIZING AND COMPUTERIZING Project
The expert, in course of the reconnaissance stage in the Red Castle, needs to carry out a
series of interventions coordinated between themselves.
-
The standards for digitizing documents, the relevant hardware equipment and the
modules for training local personnel need to be defined.
-
Also needing to be defined: The modality for creating an integrated data entry system
out of all of the cards as specified by the Archivist. Note well: The consultation of
images should be made available to a wide array of users throughout the world: for
this reason the images will be able to migrate to the portal www.culturaitalia.it and
from here into the portal http://www.europena.eu/
-
We need to design, to a first approximation, the construction of a digital archive (see
http://www.redcastlearchive.eu/).
Building a digital archive in Italian and English
Referring once again to the project “Refurbishing and enhancement of the Red Castle of
Tripoli – Feasibility study and personnel training (Law number 212/92)”, we are invited
to take the opportunity of creating a digital archive at the Red Castle starting with the
initial findings from the study conducted in the archives by the Italian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. This archive (of which the digital information bases are currently in place) in its
time was handed over to the Commission as a simple “consequence” from the research
into the documentary sources of the Red Castle. This first substantial nucleus of digital
information supplied by the catalogue cards will make it possible for a vast public of
students, scholars and visitors to consult important documentation on-line of which the
originals, otherwise inaccessible, are preserved at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Rome:
-
the PHOTOS found during the research of the archive and those published in the texts
-
the DRAWINGS gathered during the research of the archive or published in texts;
consulted:
- the TEXTS of all of the volumes and articles published, equipped with synthetic
catalog records.
23