TIMA organises annual conferences on Islamic manuscripts
The First Islamic Manuscript Conference
From 4–6 July 2005, the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge jointly organised and hosted the First Islamic Manuscript Conference at King’s College, Cambridge. The event was an exceptional gathering of scholars, dignitaries and the directors of libraries and museums possessing the most important collections of Islamic manuscripts.
This conference was convened to assess the problems facing institutions in possession of Islamic manuscripts, as well as those of researchers trying to gain access to these collections. Despite the important work that has been done in libraries around the world to address some of these difficulties, many institutions have worked on projects in isolation instead of coordinating their efforts and exchanging information.
The 55 conference participants, who came from 20 countries, were unanimous in advocating the establishment of an international body which would coordinate the efforts of those working with Islamic manuscripts and preliminary steps were taken during the conference to discuss different models for the association and a steering committee was formed.
First Islamic Manuscript Conference Website
The Second Islamic Manuscript Conference
From 7–9 August 2006 the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and CMEIS organized the Second Islamic Manuscript Conference, held at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The goal of the conference was to formally establish The Islamic Manuscript Association (TIMA), and we are delighted to announce that 44 people have signed the constitution and joined the Association as founding members. Since then many more scholars and libraries have joined the Association.
The new TIMA members agreed that the Association would work to create universal cataloguing standards and make manuscripts more accessible by standardizing the terms of access to digital and microfilm images as well as the fees charged for obtaining such reproductions. Furthermore, the Association will actively encourage and assist the conservation of manuscripts; assess the needs of collections and draw up a list of priorities for action; as well as seeking international funding for new projects.
Second Islamic Manuscript Conference Website
The Third Islamic Manuscript Conference
The Third Islamic Manuscript Conference took place on 28-31 August 2007 at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. It was hosted by the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge.
The conference featured research from different fields of study related to Islamic manuscripts. Manuscript projects from around the world were presented and new techniques and technologies for conservation and digitisation were discussed.
Each of TIMA's interest groups presented conference panels on cataloguing, conservation, digitization and publishing. The sub-committees leading these groups discussed their work to date promoting best practice and standards in their fields. On the last day of the conference there was a practical conservation workshop and a visit to Cambridge University Library.
Third Islamic Manuscript Conference Website