Linnean correspondence project

The Book & Paper Conservation Studio's work on one of the largest projects they have undertaken has earned them a nomination for the "Oscars" of the conservation world.

The studio has been nominated for one of The Conservation Awards 2007 in recognition of their work with the Linnaean Society of London, the world's oldest biological society.

The Dundee team have been nominated for the Award for Care of Collections, with the awards to be presented at the British Museum this month.

The recently completed Linnean Correspondence Project saw the studio preserving the letters of the eighteenth century botanist and father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778), who simplified and revolutionised the way plants and animals were named.

The three-year project involved the cleaning, repair and re-housing of around 4000 letters from over 600 correspondents, with many of the letters containing dried biological specimens.

"The Linnean project presented a real challenge because of the varying materials which were stored in the letters," said Vanessa Charles. "The collection had been stored in heavy bound volumes which were literally crushing some of the samples."

"Some of the plant samples were very fragile but we have managed to preserve them."

Following the Studio's work to preserve the collection, it is now being digitised so that it can be more widely accessed.

Thousands of living things were classified by Linnaeus using a binominal system in Latin and, despite recent advances in genetic identification, his naming system is still used and understood by scientists all over the world.