The Multi-lingual Bookbinding/Conservation Dictionary Project | Introduction | Suggestion/Correction Form

Compiled by Suzy Morgan and Peter D. Verheyen

Click here to use the dictionary in Google Docs

We'd like to introduce, for your consideration, a new and exciting collaborative project created by Suzy Morgan and Peter Verheyen. It is an international dictionary of bookbinding and conservation terms, currently presented as a Google Docs spreadsheet that is viewable by anyone.

The "List View" version of the spreadsheet above allows you to filter (using the drop-down menus) by language. The sheet only shows about 250 rows at a time, which can be changed by simply typing a larger (or smaller) number into the "Rows per page" box in the either of the right hand corners. There is also a "Read This First!" sheet, accessible via a link at the top left corner that provides a more detailed guide to using and editing the dictionary.

The goal of this project is to combine, in one place, all the known bookbinding and book conservation terminology, in as many languages as possible. We are also including both current and archaic terms, to make the dictionary useful for both practicing conservators and bookbinders, as well as book history scholars. There are already a variety of multi-lingual dictionaries in existence, but none so comprehensive as what we envision for this project. In essence, we have taken every available multi-lingual dictionary of bookbinding, conservation or library words, and combined them. We are not seeking to define these terms, but rather provide a simple tool for translating words that can be used together with other tools such as Google Translate. An example might be viewing a binding tutorial in German, translating it via Google, and then using this list to translate those binding specific terms that will not translate. Or, you have a basic reading knowledge, but it is the specific terms that are missing and not to be found in common dictionaries.

However, we have also found that some words have different translations (or no translation at all!) according to different dictionaries, which is where we need your help! We are very interested in finding collaborators to help us fill in the gaps in those languages other than English and German, and cross-check existing words in those languages for accuracy.

At the moment, due to the limited collaborative editing features of Google Docs, we are not allowing others to directly edit the dictionary, but will gladly accept editing suggestions via email. Eventually, we would like to add official editors for each language, who will be able to directly edit the dictionary in Google Docs. If you are interested in becoming an official editor of the dictionary, please feel free to email me (suzyemail@gmail.com) with a brief explanation of your linguistic background, bookbinding/conservation knowledge, and spreadsheet proficiency.

Please feel free to use this for your research purposes, send us your words, and let us know if you feel that you have the skills to seriously contribute to this project.

Thanks! -Suzy Morgan and Peter Verheyen