ISIS threat forces Iraq to digitize national library

In an effort to preserve centuries of the written word from possible pillage by Islamic State militants, the Baghdad National Library is rushing to scan ancient works to create digital archives.The work undertaken by the microfilm department is truly a hefty task, as a vast proportion of the collection of manuscripts is in bad shape. Over the centuries, several have either been burned or ruined by dampness. Others have even fossilized over time and now look like large rocks.

“Those are the most difficult books to restore,” Fatma Khudair, from the museum restoration department told the AP. “We apply steam using a specialized tool to try to loosen and separate the pages.”

Khudair noted that some damage over the years is “irreversible.” Currently the library staff is working to preserve the documents dating back to the Ottoman empire.

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INC News, 05/08/2015 - via RT