My name is Dawid Kuriański and I am a staff member in the Department of Manuscripts at the University Library in Wrocław. Thanks to the PAMELA Project, I had the opportunity to spend a month (February 2026) at the Augustinian Canons’ Library in Klosterneuburg.
During my time there, I worked within the OLIM project, which focuses on analysing former shelfmarks in manuscripts and early printed books. My main task consisted of adding and recording data related to these historical shelfmarks.
At first glance, this kind of work might appear tedious: examining books one by one, checking bindings and flyleaves, noting traces of chains, old ownership notes, or faded shelfmarks. Yet this seemingly routine activity is in fact essential for understanding the historical layers of the collection. Each small detail can provide a clue about how the library was once organised, how books were stored, or how the collection evolved over centuries.
In many ways, the process resembles archaeology. Just as archaeologists uncover successive historical strata in the ground, working with historical shelfmarks reveals layers of the past within the collection itself. A shelfmark written on a flyleaf, a note by a medieval librarian, or traces left by a book chain can all point to different moments in the life of the collection.
Working with a larger number of manuscripts also allowed me to develop a broader sense of the character of the entire collection. Importantly, it offered a valuable point of comparison with the collection of the Canons Regular of Żagań that I work on in my daily research at the University Library in Wrocław.
But most importantly, the stay allowed me to exchange experiences and ideas with wonderful colleagues from the Library in Klosterneuburg, which was both inspiring and enriching. From this perspective, my secondment in Klosterneuburg was a truly rewarding and memorable experience, and I am therefore very grateful for having participated in the PAMELA Project.
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