Manuscripts of Timbuktu

In partnership with Aluka, NUAMPS recently completed the establishment of a digital photography studio in Timbuktu, Mali. The studio will be used in the digitization of 300 Islamic manuscripts which date as far back as the 15th century and represent both the intellectual traditions and sophisticated artistry of the Western Sudan.

In four trips over 18 months, NUAMPS image specialists transported cameras, computers, lights, camera supports, and electrical distribution equipment to Timbuktu where they established a complete high-resolution digital photography studio and trained local project representatives on the equipment. Within a week of the initial training, NUAMPS and the Timbuktu team had digitized nearly 1000 manuscript pages.

Harlan Wallach Presents
On April 22, NUAMPS Project Leader, Harlan Wallach presents on the background of Aluka’s digitization efforts in Timbuktu, including geographical and environmental obstacles and the overall effort to establish and create a fully operational digitization and photography studio in Timbuktu. Register for one of the Webinars on the Aluka website.

Aluka is an international, collaborative initiative building an online digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa.