As a “book scholar,” I work with microscopes, imaging technologies, and AI to preserve ancient texts

Cultural heritage is constantly under threat. In recent years, we have witnessed the destruction of museums, archives and libraries around the world – from wildfires in California to bombings in Gaza to wars in Ukraine and Iran.

Meanwhile, book scholars are working tirelessly using a range of technologies—including microscopes, multispectral imaging, and artificial intelligence—to restore, understand, and preserve many valuable ancient texts.

This approach changes our knowledge of the past as we learn how ancient books were made and how they change over time. It also helps us care for fragile collections at a time when climate change and mass digitalization are transforming cultural heritage work.

I work in this area as a PhD student at the University of Toronto as part of the Old Books New Science Lab and the Matrix Functionalization and Phenotyping Lab. I work with restorers and monument scholars to study parchment manuscripts and…