Csapodi, Csaba: Conservation of the Manuscript and Old Book Collections at the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Methods and Results. 1949–1964 (A MTAK kiadványai 44. Budapest, 1965)

covering according to their size. The envelopes are put into a box which, for easier handling, has 3—4 sections. Thus these boxes are placed on the shelves of the storage rooms (Plate 44). We would like to mention two technical observations in connection with the bindings. One is that the conservators employ plastic glues more frequently in their work, for these do not spoil. Mould and animals cannot nest in them. Our experience is that although the real ribs and the fixed back would best suit the style of the old books (for the back glued to the spine was not known in older times) the sections sewn to bands (false ribs with the back not glued to the spine opens more easily than one which is glued. When a book is rebound it is senseless to keep less adequate and old-fashioned binding techniques just for the sense of style. In more recent times, if the old book is rebound, sections of the book are sewn to bands and the spine is not glued to the back of the book. Methods and Means of Storing Manuscripts Regarding the nature of the material, the method of storing manuscripts is not identical with that of the books. An important difference is that while the books may be temporarily placed on the shelves of the storage rooms with a binding (the lack of binding causes damage only through usage) the majority of the manuscripts cannot be stored without a protective cover which they need for standing on the shelves. Without it, the pages scatter. The other difference is that while the binding offers sufficient protection for the books the many types of manuscripts cause the protective covers to be varied too. a) Binding. The bound manuscripts are the same in form as the books. Consequently, the natural cover of such manuscripts is also an adequate binding as in the case of printed books. When speaking about bound manuscripts we are largely referring to the codices which usually have a valuable contemporary binding. But there are also recent bound manuscripts from the 17th to 18th centuries which are covered with masterpieces of the bookbinding art of the age. These naturally must be handled and conserved much the same as the bindings of the old books. More frequently, however, the bindings of the manuscripts are simple but perfectly suitable to the purpose and was either bound afterwards or the text was written on such sewn and bound papers. These bound manuscripts do not cause storage problems and storage is generally done much the same as for the printed books. It is practicable to bind the larger and frequently used manuscripts, not only because storage is most simple this way but because this hinders the confusion or removal of the pages. On the other hand it is true that such a binding is relatively expensive because today the manuscripts and typed sheets are mostly written on separate pages and binding is possible only if these are glued in pairs or if the individual pages are glued on sewn narrow strips op paper. At any rate it must be considered whether the manuscript is worthwhile to rebind, can its more frequent usage be accepted; if not we should choose some less expensive method of storage. b) The Binding Together of Manuscripts. At the first stage in the conservation of the manuscript collection the various smaller manuscripts of prominent 17