Introduction

It is now becoming evident that the skills involved in the cataloguing of manuscripts are gradually disap­pearing. Traditionally, these skills were passed down from Master to Pupil in the course of an apprentice­ship, which is becoming increasingly rare. Out of a desire to give young cataloguers the broad cultural and scholarly background, which they often lack as a result of this change, the Chairman envisaged a specialist post-graduate course in the cataloguing of Islamic manuscripts, to be aimed at librarians who have not been specifically trained in the handling of manuscripts. Procedural guidance was sought from the International Advisory Council, and the found­ations for the Course were laid at a meeting of the Board of Experts at IRCICA, Istanbul.