Upcoming Conference at British Library: “Rare Book Experts Join Forces to Stop Tome Raiders”
From The Guardian:
Thefts of rare books, maps and manuscripts from national libraries have sparked such alarm that international experts are joining forces to stop any further vandalism to the world’s cultural heritage.
Lawyers and librarians, booksellers and auctioneers will descend on the British Library next month for a major conference whose title – The Written Heritage of Mankind in Peril – conveys the seriousness of the problem.
The first conference of its kind follows a series of devastating thefts from libraries.
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The conference takes place on 26 June. The keynote speech will be delivered by Prof Norman Palmer QC, one of the UK’s foremost legal experts on cultural issues. He said: “We hear a lot about the theft of art and antiquities. Less prominent are illegal takings from libraries. Books, manuscripts and archives have tended to be – certainly in terms of legal scrutiny – a bit of a Cinderella.”
Read the Complete Article (approx. 900 Words)
See Also: The Written Heritage of Mankind in Peril Conference Website and Program (via BL)
Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Libraries, Maps, National Libraries, News
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.