[Preservation Effort of Numérique des Manuscrits Orientaux in Qaraqosh, Iraq]

The value of using digital tools to preserve endangered cultural heritage can perhaps be best seen in the work of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) to prepare digital images of Syriac manuscripts threatened by war in Iraq and Syria. HMML trains local partners such as those pictured here, Fr. Michael Nageeb, OP and his staff from the Centre Numérique des Manuscrits Orientaux (CNMO) in Iraq. Fr. Nageeb and the CNMO have partnered with HMML in this work since 2009. In this photo from 2014, CNMO staff load Syriac and Arabic manuscripts for evacuation in advance of the so-called Islamic State’s capture of Northern Iraq. After the work of photographing the manuscripts, HMML undertakes the long work of cataloguing, a task using the reference tools of Syriaca.org.