Paper short abstract:

Offers a perspective on private and public manuscript collections in Timbuktu, Mali, especially in light of the history of social and political disruptions in and around Timbuktu.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores how collections have been constituted in Timbuktu. It looks closely at the work of probably the most energetic copyist and collector of the twentieth century in the region, Ahmad Bul'araf. Part of his collection became the basis of the official archive-library in Timbuktu named after the town's most famous scholar, Ahmed Baba (16th century). This paper examines the fate of Bul'araf's private collection and that of the public archive in the post-colonial period. The paper also reflects on the recent period of instability and how previous episodes of state breakdown in the region affected the traditions of collecting and preservation.