library has an integrated catalogue that, in addition to main depository catalogues, lists the catalogues of the books and journals kept at 6 memorial halls of the National Centre of Manuscripts. Department of Art History Department of Art History studies art of the Georgian books, works on creation and preparation of the corpus of miniatures which are included in the manuscripts for publishing. Illumination of manuscripts is studied considering chronological and thematic aspects in order to define artistic styles typical to the different scriptoriums, epoch or subject matter. Special attention is devoted to the matters related to the copyists, artists and book-binders. Laboratory of Conservation and Restoration The Laboratory of Conservation and Restoration was established at the National Centre of Manuscripts in 2006. This Laboratory replaced the former Department of the Hygiene and Restoration. In the Laboratory of Conservation and Restoration the works are performed in several directions: Conservation and restoration of manuscripts on parchment and paper, early printed books, historical documents, archive materials as well as the books of the Centre's Library and other materials preserved in the private collections; Conservation of the old and damaged pages; Separation of the petrified and stuck pages; Straightening and restoration of the deformed leaves; Filling the missing parts/passages; Binding of the loose manuscripts, restoration and conservation of the original stamped leather book-covers; Disinfection and cleaning of the preserved or newly acquired materials. Laboratory of Digitalization At the centre of the National Centre of Manuscripts functions the Laboratory of Digitalization, where the materials kept at the Centre are scanned, sorted and encoded in digital format. Digitalization of the manuscripts, documents, miniatures and photo materials the Centre supports their fixation and presentation to the scientific circles. Digitalization is also a good tool for the preservation of the existing material – in the future materials which might be lost in the course of time can be restored on the basis of the digital copy. Collection The collection of the National Centre of Manuscripts comprises handwritten books, historical documents and archival funds. The collection of the manuscripts and historical documents are divided into groups (sub-funds) according to language, in the archival fund are kept private archives of the Georgian and foreign public figures, also archives of the various organizations. Manuscripts Collection of the manuscripts is divided into groups of Georgian, Oriental, Greek, Russian and manuscripts in other languages. Out of these groups collection of the Georgian