Kamber
Peter Kamber
Training skills for curators of medieval manuscripts in Europe
In my paper I shall concentrate on the two truly revolutionary developments in the manuscript curator’s world in recent years: the manuscript going digital and the manuscript going public. Since the audience’s perception of the medieval manuscript on the screen is less than skin deep, everyone craves for the real and bulky “thing” itself in exhibitions, presentations, and in the schoolroom. Are medieval manuscripts different from other manuscript material in the ways they are affected by the digital revolution? What are the consequences for the curator’s daily work? What are the skills enabling her or him to meet the clients’ needs without endangering the manuscripts? And how can manuscript departments in small libraries without access to a large pool of specialists acquire and keep the essential know-how?
