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Doing More with Less: The Rylands Genizah Project
RLG European Partners MeetingOxford, October 2010
Dr Stella Butler, Deputy University Librarian, JRUL
The Rylands Genizah Project 2003-2009
Collection originated in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo
Acquired in 1954 from the estate of Moses Gaster
11,000 fragments mostly on paper some on parchmentMostly Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic
In very poor physical condition
The Genizah- unearthing treasure
Range of documents: religious texts, Bible, Talmudpersonal correspondenceshopping listsschool exercise books
Genizah Collection
JRUL Luna Insight Image Collections
Rylands Genizah Collections
The Power of Magnification
The Power of Magnification
Arabic Text
Rylands Genizah
Rylands Genizah Project: enhancing the image
Arabic Text
Rylands Genizah
Rylands Genizah Project
Genizah Cataloguing Project: making Manchester joins
Fragments A639-2, B4754-1, and A 724-2
Piyyutim for grace after meals with 150 poetic lines
Genizah Cataloguing Project: making Manchester joins
Fragments A639-2, B4754-1, and A 724-2
Piyyutim for grace after meals with 150 poetic lines
Maimonides: Guide of the Perplexed
Rylands Genizah B 2597 and B4094
Rylands Genizah Project: making the joins across collections
Maimonides: Guide of the Perplexed
Rylands Genizah B 2597 and B4094
Rylands Genizah Project
Making the joins
Fragment from Cambridge University Genizah Unit
Maimonides: Guide of the Perplexed
Rylands Genizah Project:
Making the joins
Fragment from Cambridge University Genizah Unit
Maimonides: Guide of the Perplexed
Rylands Genizah Project
Genizah Cataloguing Project: web advantages
Adding value: Princeton Transcriptions
Genizah Cataloguing Project: web advantages
The digital image becomes an analytical tool
The power of magnification
Making joins recreating the archive
manipulating the image- improving on reality
sharing the resource- democratizing knowledge
Genizah Cataloguing Project: digital advantages
Access for scholars across continents
Democratization of knowledge- avoids reservations and rewards serendipity
Encourages networks around themes and subjects
Reuniting collections and single objects
A medium for conversation
Keeping metadata with image
Genizah Cataloguing Project: web advantages
Complementary skills
Has avoided the loneliness of the long-distanced cataloguer
Has brought academic community closer to the physical collections
Cataloguing has been a collaborative effort both with JRUL and with wider Genizah community
Genizah Cataloguing Project:
productive collaborations
‘Doing More with Less’
http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/eresources/imagecollections/university/genizah/
Dr Stella Butler, Deputy University Librarian, JRUL
