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• Historic library indoor microclimate campaign, methodology and results. • Heritage microclimate risk and prediction risk damage application to a heritage building. • Monitoring and alert protocol. This paper aims to illustrate and give an interpretation of the results emerged from a pilot activity developed within the ROCK project, by the Department of Architecture of the University of Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum. Through this activity, we studied the indoor microclimate of the University Library of Bologna (BUB), in the Archive and in the Lecture Hall, with the aim to detect how these spaces are affected by the influence of factors such as the outdoor climate and the cooling and heating systems. Moreover, the paper presents the customisation of the probes' alert system and of the probes itself, used for a one-year monitoring campaign started on the 20th of December 2018. In addition, we calculated the Heritage Microclimate Risk index, to verify the level of risk to which the heritage in the Library is exposed due to the indoor microclimate, and the Predicted Risk of Damage index, that evaluate the more specific risks of damage to which precise objects hosted in there are exposed. Therefore, this paper enriches the research field of Historic Indoor Microclimate, started in 2013, which concerns issues as preventive conservation and restoration in historic buildings. The new insights about the Bologna University Library facilitate the possibility to draw up a specific 'Indoor Microclimate Management Protocol (IMMP)' aimed at the preventive conservation of manuscripts and books in historical libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents the study of an XIII century French medieval Legendarium manuscript. The manuscript has a complex background of destruction and restoration attempts. Now the manuscript consists of 214 sheets encapsulated in polyethylene terephthalate conservation envelopes. The damaged manuscript sheets are in different states, some illustrations and text sections are in rather bad condition, some pages contain blurred traces of pigments and inks, which were used to write letters and make illustrations. Works carried out on this unique literary monument, included research using optical microscopy (OM), infrared reflectography (IRR), micro-Raman spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The work was aimed at the estimation of the manuscript preservation and its current state. It has been demonstrated that even the study of micro-particles can be useful in the initial stages of the parchment manuscripts study that are in highly damaged condition. A wide variety of materials, which were used in different periods of time, have been found. Two types of red and four types of blue pigments were found in the studied particles from parchment. Locating the particles of iron-gall ink and pigments (for example, cinnabar and azurite) in the same region may indicate a possible use of this type of ink for both text and decoration. Pigments were revealed, the appearance of which date to a later time compared with the estimated date of Legendarium creations. These pigments include Prussian blue, pigments based on monoazo group and phthalocyanine blue. This contributes to the identification and localization of later interventions in the object under study, which were made both for the purpose of restoration and preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the last decade, Mesoamerican codices have been the subjects of numerous characterization studies. Due to their large sizes, a limited number of areas were effectively analyzed, but considered representative of the manuscripts material constituents. In order to overcome this necessary assumption, a complementary approach is presented here, with the use of macroscopic diffuse reflectance spectral imaging (also known as "hyperspectral" imaging), in the visible to short wave infrared range (400–2500 nm). It allowed to study the entire surface of the Codex Borbonicus , a 16th century Aztec manuscript, used as an example of application for our innovative methodology. Numerous types of information (colorimetric data, visualization of underdrawings, spectral segmentation and chemical mappings) were obtained, and the entire document material composition was examined. These new data enrich the current knowledge on traditional Mesoamerican manuscript manufacturing techniques. More importantly, this demonstrates the great potential of this approach for the non-invasive study of large polychromatic surfaces. For the first time, an entire manuscript is analyzed using this approach providing several types of information on the same document with a single analytical technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aim was to determine the effectiveness of disinfection methods: thyme essential oil microatmosphere (TEO), silver nanoparticles misting (AgNPs), and low temperature plasma (LTP) by culture-dependent method and RNA analysis. In addition, we examined the influence of disinfection on mechanical and optical properties of paper from historical books with different levels of microbial contamination. All disinfection methods were generally bacteriostatic and fungistatic. The AgNPs misting method was more effective for bacterial inhibition ( R = 60–100%), than LTP ( R = 25–100%) and TEO ( R = 12–100%); all tested methods were less effective for fungi ( R = 0–99.8%). TEO exhibits a broader spectrum of fungicidal activity compared to AgNPs and LTP. The antimicrobial effectiveness depended on the area from where the microorganisms were isolated and their sensitivity to the active agent. A higher disinfection effectiveness was observed for books with higher levels of microbial contamination. RNA concentration was a good marker of antimicrobial activity of disinfection. RNA amount decreased by 95–100% after disinfection with LTP and TEO, and by 29–89% after AgNPs disinfection. Disinfection of paper from historical books with LTP, AgNPs and TEO did not significantly influence or have a positive effect on the mechanical and optical properties of paper from tested historical books. We show that LTP, TEO, and AgNPs can be used as microbiostatics, alternatively to the currently available methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a fast automatic procedure for registration and restoration of images of recto-verso pairs of color manuscripts affected by bleed-through distortion. The registration algorithm assumes a rigid projective deformation of a side with respect to the other. The coefficients of the geometric transformation are computed from a large number of pairs of matching points, automatically detected by exploiting the estimates of local shifts between pairs of small patches. We validate the efficiency of the registration algorithm through the performance of a restoration method based on a model that relates each couple of corresponding pixels in the two images, and thus requiring a very accurate alignment of the two sides. The experiments show that this combined procedure of registration plus restoration can provide an excellent removal of the bleed-through pattern, while leaving unaltered the salient features of the original manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work focuses on the study of paper and textiles used in the binding of a series of manuscripts that share some specific characteristics that lead us to speculate on the possibility of a transitional codicological typology from the Arabic to the Christian book in Al-Andalus during the 15th century. The books we analyzed belong to the collection of the Historical Archive of Malaga, the Archive of Sacromonte Abbey, in Granada, the School of Arabic Studies and the Library of P.P. Escolapios, also in Granada. Paper physical study was performed by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. A routine and objective method, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, was employed and proved to be a useful technique for the characterization of cellulosic fibres, main component of paper from the boards and the envelope flap pasteboards, and the fabric lining from the cover. The results of our research will help us to date, identify and study the evolution of the techniques, proving that the materials and innovations of the Italian paper manufacturing processes were perfectly known in the south of modern day Spain, before the Christian Reconquest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]