Conservation
A Tradition of Stewardship
The Old Library currently houses 350,000 early printed books, and 20,000 manuscript and archive collections which have been collected over four centuries. Trinity has a team of conservators who conserve precious manuscripts and early printed books.
Contemporary Challenges
The Old Library and its collections face a number of conservation and environmental challenges which need to be addressed in order to safeguard the building and its contents for the next century.
Similar to museums and libraries worldwide, the Old Library is subject to external pollution and dust accumulation from its city centre location. These environmental factors take a toll on the collections and the building itself. There is a need to modernise environmental control and fire protection measures. The Old Library Redevelopment Project will address these challenges and introduce new systems in keeping with international conservation standards.