An optimised workflow for large-scale condition surveys of book collections

In 2007 (May, June, July and October) members of the Ligatus Research Unit of the University of the Arts London undertook the condition survey of a sample of the printed books from the Library of the Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. The methodology for this survey derived from a previous survey of the manuscripts from the same library (Pickwoad 2004) which was undertaken during several trips to the monastery from 2001 to 2005. An important consideration during both these projects has been the efficient management of available resources in a remote area such as the Sinai desert. Both surveys have been designed with time-efficiency and quality of results in mind and part of the Unit's research scope over the past years has been to improve upon these aspects.