Increasing Awareness for the Protection of Archival Material

In the last decade, archives and libraries in Greece developed strategies to attract scholars, researchers, and the public to access their collections, both in person and digitally. These included several activities, such as exhibitions, lectures, and seminars, that allowed raising the issue of the protection of written heritage and discussing the disastrous effects of inappropriate or uncontrollable conditions of storage or display as well as the threats of climate change. Through this interaction with the public, but also with the professionals working in the same field, it became clear that the role and the aim of the work of the conservator are ambiguous, while the detrimental effect of uneducated interventions was not adequately considered. Finally, the development of digital technologies provided new valuable communication tools to increase public awareness of the protection of written heritage and discuss the input of professional and educated conservation to the protection of cultural heritage.