U-Mich: Papyrus Conservation Seminar

Papyrus Conservation Seminar

Papyrus Collection, University of Michigan Library

Ann Arbor, Michigan

18-29 June 2012

The Papyrus Collection of the University of Michigan Library will host a two-week seminar in papyrus conservation, from Monday, June 18 to Friday, June 29, 2012, directed by Ms. Leyla Lau-Lamb. Participants will receive a hands-on introduction to papyrus conservation. They will learn about equipment and materials used in papyrus conservation and the theory and methodology behind current conservation techniques. They will then utilize these techniques to perform a range of treatment on actual papyri from the University of Michigan’s Papyrus Collection, including written documentation, digital photo-documentation, mechanical cleaning, damp treatments, reduction of folds, alignment of fibers, alignment of fragments, and methods of housing and storage.

The number of participants is limited to eight. Preference will be given to scholars and students who are directly involved with papyrus conservation, whether in the setting of a papyrus collection or archaeological excavations.

There is no course fee for the seminar, which is supported by the University of Michigan Papyrus Collection. Participants are responsible for their own travel, lodging and meals. Participants will have the option of purchasing the conservation tools they will use during the seminar. A certificate of participation will be provided at the end of the seminar. 

Ms. Leyla Lau-Lamb is a senior conservator in the University of Michigan Library and has been conservator for the Michigan Papyrus Collection since 1990. Author of the Advanced Papyrological System (APIS) Guidelines for Conservation of Papyrus, she has been invited by various collections worldwide, including the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Carlsberg Papyrus Collection of the University of Copenhagen, to assist in the conservation of papyrus.

To apply please send contact information, a statement summarizing relevant conservation or papyrology experience and responsibilities (maximum 600 words), and one letter of recommendation to:

Prof. Arthur Verhoogt

Acting Archivist, University of Michigan Papyrus Collection,

807 Hatcher Graduate Library South,

913 S. University Avenue

Ann Arbor MI 48109-1190

or email the application as a pdf-file to verhoogtATumichDOTedu.

Deadline for applications is 1 December 2011.