Help Save a Timbuktu Library

By Jason Boog 

A group of brave librarians are raising money to save a collection of manuscripts (some are 700 years old) rescued from Timbuktu last year. Here is the remarkable story:

In 2012, under threat from fundamentalist rebels, a team of archivists, librarians, and couriers evacuated an irreplaceable trove of manuscripts from Timbuktu at great personal risk. The manuscripts have been saved from immediate destruction, but the danger is not over. A massive archival effort is needed to protect this immense global heritage from loss … Though removed from immediate threat, the manuscripts are still jam packed in footlockers used for their evacuation and the current environment of this precious world heritage is significantly more humid than Timbuktu. There are already signs of damage and exposure to moisture.

These librarians are struggling to store a set of priceless manuscripts in an “archival, moisture-resistant manner” before they are damaged by moisture. They hope to raise $100,000 on Indiegogo, but it is a flexible funding campaign–so every contribution will help.

We’ve embedded a video about the project below…