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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid.
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And I'm Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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In the year 300 BCE, Egypt was the centre of learning and education. The Library of Alexandria was one of greatest collections of knowledge in the world. However, a series of great fires destroyed almost everything.
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During World War II, airplanes bombed the town of Dresden, Germany. Soldiers attacked stores, schools, and factories. In addition to lives and homes lost, the bombings destroyed many collections of old books.
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Twenty [20] years later, in 1966, the River Arno flooded the city of Florence, Italy. Water destroyed many important writings, art, and public records.
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In the 1990s, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. This government destroyed many ancient and valuable writings. They thought the writings were against Islamic Law.
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All these events, and many more like them, show how many things can destroy important cultural and historical records.
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Today's Spotlight is on the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, or HMML. This group recognizes that there are many dangers to old documents. There are natural dangers like fires, floods, and earthquakes. There are also human made dangers such as war, poor treatment, and purposeful damage. The HMML is working to protect ancient manuscripts against these dangers. They do this by creating a digital copy of the manuscript. Then, they share the information with the world.
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What is a manuscript? A manuscript is any hand written document or any collection of writings tied together into a book form. Before the invention of the printing press, this was how people made books. People spent years creating a single book. Many times these were religious people who were copying the Bible or other religious book. However, sometimes manuscripts are personal writings, business deals or family histories.
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Hand written manuscripts were usually made by making paper from animal skin. Next, a few pieces of paper are collected and bent in half. These are tied together with fine rope. These small groups are again collected and tied together. These manuscripts took a lot of work to make. There were few manuscripts. And so most manuscripts were used a lot. They were carried around and read. They often show marks from the oil of human hands or the blackening from being too close to a fire.
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The printing press was invented around the year 1450. It quickly changed the way books were made. Books became easy to create and many books could be made in a short time. Making manuscripts by hand did not make sense anymore. However, old manuscripts still contained important information. The problem was that as time went by, more and more of these old manuscripts were lost or destroyed.
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This is the reason that The Hill Museum and Manuscript Library is working to protect manuscripts from all around the world. They do this by taking a picture of the manuscript and turning it into a computer file. While manuscripts are rare and break easily, these digital files can be easily copied and quickly shared. It is hard to destroy them.
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There are many challenges in finding and preserving manuscripts. An experience in the Middle East shows these challenges. The Reverend Columba Stewart is the head of the HMML. Columba learned of a library that held hundreds of manuscripts - manuscripts about religion, science, history, and philosophy. Columba travelled to look at the manuscripts. When he arrived, a librarian worker led him into a storage room. There a few old manuscripts rested on the shelves. After a moment Columba asked if there were any more manuscripts. The librarian stopped for a minute, and then he opened a secret door. The librarian led Columba into another room. Columba asked again, ‘Is this all?' Then the librarian moved a secret book shelf and showed him a room full of manuscripts. Each one had been carefully protected for hundreds of years. But Columba would not take any of these books. He needed to get permission to record these books. And that took some work.
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In the past, many western museums and libraries removed historical treasures and manuscripts from their countries of origin. This is why the librarian in the Middle East was slow to show Columba everything. He did not know if he could trust Columba. The HMML believes that manuscripts should remain in their communities and countries of origin. However, they also believe that a digital copy should be made.
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Creating a digital copy protects against loss. But it also makes it is easier for researchers all around the world to study the text. When a person studies an original manuscript, they need light. They also need to touch the book and expose it to the air. All of these things break down the manuscript. However, these are not problems with digital copies. Digital copies do not wear out.
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The HMML is working all around the world. They currently have preservation projects in Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, India, Italy, Ethiopia, South Africa and other countries. Some of the manuscripts are in languages that only a few people understand. Since many of these manuscripts are now in files on the Internet, these few researchers can study the manuscripts from where they live.
The Hill Museum and Manuscript Library is a Christian organization. It does not protect only Christian manuscripts. If it agrees to record a collection, it will record everything, not only Christian manuscripts.
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However, one thing the HMML has been able to show is how Christianity developed in different countries. Often, Christianity is connected to Europe and North America. However, many manuscripts show that countries in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe all have strong Christian traditions and a deep understanding of Christianity. Without these manuscripts, the full picture of Christianity as a global religion would be lost.
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By making manuscripts available to the world, the HMML helps show the long histories of many countries. These histories include writings on education, religion, science, and philosophy. And these documents help people better understand the development of ideas in different areas of the world.
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