Book science in the bolton library
The Bolton Library, newly housed at the University of Limerick (UL), is one of Ireland’s most important private library collections. It is currently part of a major conservation effort aimed at saving the books from decades of damage. However, some of the earliest books are too fragile for conservators to handle easily. My project pilots a new application of micro computed x-ray tomography (µCT) that will facilitate the conservation of these important books while revealing new information about the history of the Irish book. 

I have four main aims: first, to examine the bindings of the medieval books in the library in order to learn more about the cultural and intellectual contexts of book production and collection during early English colonialism. Second, to position these books within a global network of trade in materials and craft techniques. Third, to pilot a novel use of µCT in special collections care, particularly as a means of understanding the status and structure of fragile items in order to plan treatment. Finally, to establish a network of scholars to support further studies in book science in Ireland and internationally. 

The research takes place in three overlapping phases detailed in my work packages. All of the medieval books in the library will be assessed and catalogued during the data collection phase. Suitable books will be selected for µCT imaging at UL’s Bernal Institute. Processing of the primary data takes place in a second phase, when any further lines of scientific enquiry will be pursued. In the second year I will translate this quantitative data into qualitative argument. Guided by new analytical approaches, my project will reveal the full significance of the materials and structures that medieval books in Ireland comprise: advancing a new holistic account of the history of the book in Ireland, and its participation in global networks of trade and production. Here regionally specific techniques are embedded in their international conte