During this period, the Ark I station worked with collections from the Oles Honchar Kherson Regional Scientific Library. The library has been repeatedly shelled; the building has suffered irreversible damage, and its collections have been evacuated. Among the rescued materials were rare regional newspaper bindings of Yug and Kherson News from 1898 to 1911. These newspapers are among the few surviving primary sources documenting political, social and cultural life in southern Ukraine at the turn of the century.
Conservators used the full restoration capability of Ark I. Damaged sheets were repaired, missing pieces of the paper base were reconstructed, spines and blocks were restored and documents were cleaned, dried and stabilized for long term preservation. In total, eight hundred and eight sheets were restored during this phase. Thanks to the professional equipment inside the station, including luminometers, pH meters, drying cabinets and vacuum packers, the team was able to safely process fragile material that would otherwise be lost. The mobile unit once again proved its value by enabling a fully functional conservation workspace inside an active conflict zone.
Alongside the technical work, the Ark team prepared for the next phase of the project: relocation to the Odessa National Scientific Library, an institution that houses one of the largest collections of rare editions and periodicals in Ukraine. Specialists from Odessa received safety briefings, training plans were developed and logistical conditions for the station’s move were agreed. This preparation ensures that once restoration begins in Odessa, the team can operate efficiently from the outset and tailor its methods to the needs of the local collection.
From October to December, the Ark I station will be fully installed in its new location in Odessa. Restoration will begin on damaged rare prints and periodicals held by the library. Practical training will continue for local staff to help transfer know- how and support the development of regional expertise in conservation under wartime conditions. Consumables will be monitored and replenished to ensure continuity of work.
The past months confirmed the power of the Ark model. The mobile format allows rapid reaction wherever collections are in immediate danger. Cooperation with Czech experts remains vital, providing professional knowledge and technical guidance. As the volume of restoration work increases, conversations are underway about creating an electronic register of restored materials and expanding the station’s operations to additional regions.
Thanks to Ark for Ukraine, cultural memory that could have been lost forever is being restored, sheet by sheet. In a time of destruction, the project proves that protecting history is also an act of resilience and hope for the future.
