This week, I returned to Djerba in order to look at a handful of manuscripts housed in the Bārūnī family library. Much more on these manuscripts and the visit to Djerba to come...
While examining an 18th century(?) copy of al-Barrādī's Kitāb al-jawāhir, I encountered an unexpected resident: a bookworm. Now, I have certainly read about 'bookworms' and have often seen the results of insects feasting away at manuscript book pages--cursing them in absentia, of course--but was nevertheless surprised to see one, living and breathing (and eating), inside a manuscript before my very eyes. This tiny white larva (bookworms are not actually worms) was difficult to photograph. But I tried and then tossed him into the garden. I suspect he was a beetle larva from one of the many types of beetles here on the island. This experience was a reminder to me of the importance of preservation and the logistical difficulty of protecting a large collection of old books on a Mediterranean island.
While examining an 18th century(?) copy of al-Barrādī's Kitāb al-jawāhir, I encountered an unexpected resident: a bookworm. Now, I have certainly read about 'bookworms' and have often seen the results of insects feasting away at manuscript book pages--cursing them in absentia, of course--but was nevertheless surprised to see one, living and breathing (and eating), inside a manuscript before my very eyes. This tiny white larva (bookworms are not actually worms) was difficult to photograph. But I tried and then tossed him into the garden. I suspect he was a beetle larva from one of the many types of beetles here on the island. This experience was a reminder to me of the importance of preservation and the logistical difficulty of protecting a large collection of old books on a Mediterranean island.
هذا الأسبوع رجعت إلى جزيرة جربة لأحلّل بعض المخطوطات الموجودة في مكتبة العائلة البارونية. أكثر عن الرحلة فيما بعد...ولكن
خلال تحليل نسخة كتاب الجواهر للبرادي من القرن الثامن عشر، تعرّفت على مقيم غير متوقع: "دودة كتاب". طبعا، قرأت مرارا عن دود الكتب ولكنّي أستغربت كل الاستغراب من أن أرى دودة تسكن وتأكل مخطوطا أمام عينيّ! هذه الحشرة البيضاء الغريبة (دود الكتب ليست دودا في الواقع) كانت صعبة التصوير ولكنّي حاولت أن أصوّرها وثم رميتها من الشباك إلى الجنينة. ذكّرت التجربة هذه بأهمية المحافظة على المخطوطات والصعوبات اللوجيستيكية المتعلقة بعملية المحافظة في جزيرة في البحر المتوسط
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