On August 23, Azm University signed a protocol with the St Joseph of Damascus Manuscript Conservation Center at the Balamand Monastery to restore 21 rare books, part of a generous donation to the library by the family of the late Sheikh Saleh al-Mikati.
Founded in 2007, the Conservation Center grew from a handful of conservators with a wide range of specializations and is the first, if not the only place in Lebanon, to make acid free paper in the traditional manner. The Center restores and preserves the Balamand Patriarchal Monastery treasures of manuscripts with miniatures, as well as its archives and documents.
The repair techniques will involve surface cleaning, adhesive removal, washing and alkalization, mending and filling and, finally, sewing and rebinding.
Among the 21 books to be restored are first copies published by the first Egyptian governmental press (Bulaq); a rare copy of " Nuzhat al-Tarf fī 'ilm al-Sarf by al-Maydānī “and a copy of Mughni al-Labib 'an Kutub al-A'aarib and a rare copy of Abdollatiphi Historiae aegypti compendium, arabice et latine.
The agreement was signed by the University President, Prof. Farid Chaaban and Rev. Archimandrite Romanos al-Hannat, the abbot of the Balamand Patriarchal Monastery.