4 ms·
I wonder if they would be opposed to allowing Google or some other big book digitizing company to scan the manuscripts to preserve electronic copies in case of
by NathanKP 14y ago
I wonder if they would be opposed to allowing Google or some other big book digitizing company to scan the manuscripts to preserve electronic copies in case of disaster?
It would do wonders as far as allowing the world to take a peek at the ancient texts, keep at least some trace of them safe in case the originals were lost, and it would be good PR if Google or somebody like that "saved" them digitally.
- runn1ng 14y agofrom what I read they actually ARE scanning the manuscripts. But the problem is those books are really old and you can't just use any average book scanner.
- _djo_ 14y agoThe manuscripts are already being digitised by the Timbouctou Manuscripts Project (the source of this article), hosted at the University of Cape Town and funded by the Ford Foundation. Those already digitised are available in their database [0], sometimes with accompanying translations. This is part of South Africa's assistance to Mali, dating from 2001, to preserve and study the manuscripts by funding and building the new Ahmed Baba Institute building (the one damaged by rebels) with the equipment to prevent further degradation of the manuscripts and digitise them, giving Malian conservationists further training at the National Archives in Pretoria and setting up research projects. Aside from something as drastic as the possibility of another civil war, the manuscripts are the safest they've been in years. [0]http://www.tombouctoumanuscripts.org/db/ http://www.tombouctoumanuscripts.org/db/