On 2 June 2025, the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted a promotion of its four-month project “Preservation of the Oriental manuscripts from the 14th c. and the 15th c., and a Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Atlas (1592)”. This project was co-funded by the FBiH Entity Ministry of Education and Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The manuscripts and the Atlas are parts of BiH National Library’s Special Collection, which is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The project lasted four months and included conservation and restoration interventions, as well as an educational activity conducted in cooperation with restoration and conservation students in Sarajevo. It also involved the preparation of digitised materials of the restored items and the publication of two printed works (Technical Editor: Teufik Osmanović, Head of Cartography and Graphic Collection; Editor: Muamera Smajić, Head of Special Collections Department).
Between the Past and the Present: Preservation of the Oriental Manuscripts Held by the the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The World on Paper: Restoration and Conservation of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Atlas
The author of these publications is Nejra Ganovic, MA holder in Restoration and Conservation, who also delivered workshops for students and performed restoration work on the manuscripts.
The process of restoration was captured in the following documentary video illustrating the initial condition of the manuscripts and how they were processed and preserved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4chCz7Ll2GA. The original news on the project promotion was published in Bosnian on the official web page of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina: https://nub.ba/promocija-projekta-ocuvanja-orijentalnih-rukopisa-14-i-15-st-i-atlasa-theatrum-orbis-terrarum/
The Restoration and Conservation Laboratory within the National and University Library operates with two staff members and the equipment donated to this institution fourteen years ago.