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|"Rare, historic and modern books, documents and parchment scrolls pertaining to the Iraqi Jewish community were found in the flooded basement of the Iraqi Intelligence (Mukhabahrat) headquarters in Baghdad in early May 2003. Upon removal from the basement, the wet materials (known as the Iraqi Jewish Archive) were packed into sacks and transported to a nearby location where they were partially dried. Dr. Harold Rhode, expert in Middle Eastern and Islamic Affairs, Department of Net Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense, provided a general review and initial sorting of the contents during the retrieval process, after which the materials were placed in 27 metal trunks. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) arranged for the materials to be frozen, which served to stabilize the condition and eliminate further mold growth.At the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority, conservators from the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) traveled to Baghdad June 20-23 to assess the condition of the materials and develop recommendations for their preservation. The following report outlines the preservation action plan and funding requirements for preserving this important collection..."The full illustrated report is at:http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ/mela/IraqiJewishArchiveReport.htmThis document is published on the website of the Middle East Librarians Association Committee on Iraqi Libraries with the kind permission of the authors and The National Archives &#38; Records Administration.A news report on these documents also appeared in The Art Newspaper, Monday 12 January 2004http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=11494Please feel free to re-post this announcement wherever there may be interest.Chuck JonesIraqCrisis Moderatorhttps://listhost.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/iraqcrisiscejo@midway.uchicago.edu 