Research team

Expertise

Historical study of the book: production techniques, design, publishing and the booktrade, libraries, cultures of collecting, books becoming heritage. Bibliographical description of historical book collections. Opening up of historical book collections to a broad public through publications, exhibitions,...

Support project 'Baroque Influencers' 01/01/2023 - 31/07/2023

Abstract

The project aims to create a large-scale exhibition highlighting the heritage of the Jesuits in Antwerp and the Southern Low Countries with regard to the 'long' 17th century. The focus is on how the Jesuits used the visual media of their time to convince their 'public'. The exhibition will take place from 21.04.2023 to 16.07.2023 in Antwerp's St. Charles Borromeo Church and in the museum Snijders&Rockoxhuis.

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  • Research Project

Scientific academic service concerning the theme of Jesuit heritage 01/07/2019 - 31/12/2023

Abstract

The project aims to make the movable material heritage of the Jesuit order in Antwerp and beyond better known to the general public, and to promote it for research and education. Specific objectives include setting up public initiatives (lectures, exhibitions...), producing publications, and the scientific and social valorisation of relevant heritage collections, with an emphasis on the collections of the Ruusbroec Society and the Special Collections of the Antwerp University Library. Special attention is paid to the digitisation of the collection of devotional prints of the Ruusbroec Institute.

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  • Research Project

BOF Sabbatical Leave - Pierre Delsaerdt. 15/09/2017 - 15/07/2018

Abstract

The aim of this sabbatical leave is to do research on the 'patrimonialisation' of the book in the Southern Low Countries during the revolutionary years 1790–1830. Research will focus on two case studies: (1) the considerable transfer of books from monastic libraries towards Parisian depots such as the Bibliothèque nationale during the French regime in the Southern Low Countries; (2) the preservation of heritage documents that had been collected by the abbey of Tongerlo and that were bought by the Dutch King William I in 1827, in order to deposit them in the Royal Library in The Hague. These case studies are complementary, both chronologically and geographically. The research objectives are: 1. To identify and describe the (often hidden) provenance of substantial quantities of literary and scientific heritage documents from the Southern Low Countries in foreign (French and Dutch) libraries. 2. To analyse the ways in which new owners appropriated these books, e.g. by having them rebound, by adding new provenance marks and/or by removing earlier ones. 3. To interpret the authorities' discourse behind the transfer of books and to look at the ways in which the previous owners of the books reacted to it. Guiding questions are concerned with the following phenomena: 1. Patrimonialisation: which types of documents were granted 'heritage value', and how was this motivated? 2. Institutionalization: how did authorities substantiate their commitment to the preservation of literary and scientific 'book heritage', and how did they understand the responsibilities of 'national' libraries in this context? 3. Centralization vs. periphery: can the actions mentioned above be interpreted as cases of transfer of cultural goods from the periphery (Tongerlo, the Southern Low Countries) towards centres (a metropolis, The Hague, Paris), and if so, how explicitely is this argument used in the documents that resulted from these transfers?

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  • Research Project

Research Tongerlo abbey library. 01/01/2012 - 28/02/2013

Abstract

This research project aims at defining the several subcollections that constitute the general library collection of Tongerlo abbey, and at determining their main contents and cultural significance. This feasability study will lead to a report with recommendations regarding the priorities to be followed in cataloging the books in an online library system. The results of this survey will also be of use in preparing preservation and conservation matters.

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  • Research Project

Needs and requirements on conservation/preservation, retrieval and digitization of heritage collections in four conservatory libraries in Flanders and Brussels. 24/05/2011 - 15/10/2011

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand Resonant. UA provides Resonant research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

Master plan preservation-conservation and accessibility-digitization. 01/02/2011 - 31/08/2011

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek. UA provides Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

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  • Research Project

Printing press production and publishing strategies in Antwerp (1585-1648). 01/01/2011 - 31/12/2011

Abstract

This project represents a research contract awarded by the University of Antwerp. The supervisor provides the Antwerp University research mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions stipulated by the university.

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  • Research Project

A research into the education and training needs concerning preservation, conservation and restoration in libraries with special collections. 01/01/2008 - 31/12/2009

Abstract

This project investigates how a better education and training of library staff and of conservators and restorers can lead to a more professional management of special collections in libraries. Interviews will reveal the specific needs of library staff and management in this respect. Some well-established foreign training programmes will be examined.

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  • Research Project

Educational historico-cultural project "Cornelis Kiliaan and the naissance of the Dutch dictionary". 01/03/2007 - 30/11/2007

Abstract

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  • Research Project

Printing Press Production and Publishing Strategies in Antwerp (1585-1648). 01/01/2007 - 31/12/2010

Abstract

This study wants to investigate what role printers and booksellers played in the transfer of early modern culture. The printer-bookseller is here not that much presented as a literate idealist who saw the printing press as a means to distribute knowledge, but as a pragmatic craftsman and trader, driven primarly by business motives. A better understanding of this business aspect can clarify the role the printer/publisher/bookseller played in the communication process.

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  • Research Project

Constructing a platform for heritage libraries in Flanders. 01/04/2005 - 30/09/2006

Abstract

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    • Research Project

    Heritage of centuries. An exhibition and a publication on abbey libraries in the province of Antwerp (Belgium). 01/01/2004 - 31/12/2004

    Abstract

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      • Research Project

      The Establishment of a Short-Title Catalogue, Flanders (STCV) 01/01/2000 - 31/12/2003

      Abstract

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      • Research Project