§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many conservators of historical documents and manuscripts are being trained; whether such numbers are sufficient to ensure conservation of documents that the British Library possesses; and whether the closure of university courses in book conservation put these nationally important documents at risk. [HL4572]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThere are currently only two colleges that offer courses in book conservation: Camberwell College of Arts in southeast London, and West Dean College in West Sussex. An average of nine students will qualify from these courses each year.
To address the shortfall the British Library plans to offer its own conservation courses, in collaboration with academic institutions, from 2006.