The CERL Provenance Working Group brings together librarians, scholars, and heritage professionals engaged in the study, documentation, and dissemination of provenance evidence in books and manuscripts.
The group plays a key role in advising CERL on the integration and interlinking of provenance data across CERL databases, while actively contributing to the development and enrichment of the Provenance Digital Archive (PDA). Through collaborative projects, training, and events, the Working Group supports an international network dedicated to advancing provenance research and improving access to provenance information.
Group members are individually involved in projects relating to the production of, and access to, records with provenance information, and their integration.
The Working Group members :
- Advise on the interlinking of provenance information in a variety of CERL databases
- Further develop and enrich the Provenance Digital Archive
- Encourage those working with provenance information to use the Provenance Digital Archive
- Support a network of scholars and librarians working with of provenance information in order to share information on the latest developments in provenance research
Chair: Agnieszka Franczyk-Cegła, Ossolineum, Wrocław
- Marieke van Delft (retired from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, mid-March 2021)
- Cristina Dondi, CERL Secretary
- Vera Andriopoulou, Head of the Historical Library, Curator of Old and Rare material, Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, Athens
- Jean-Marc Chatelain, Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Richard Espley, National Art Library, part of the Victoria and Albert Museum
- Francesca Galligan, Bodleian Library, Oxford
- Will Hale, Christ Church, Oxford
- Monique Hulvey, Bibliothèque municipale, Lyon (retired)
- Dr Wojciech Kordyzon, Warsaw University
- John Lancaster, CERL Honorary Fellow and MEI Editor for a number of American Libraries
- Marian Lefferts, CERL Executive Manager
- Martyna Osuch, Warsaw University Library
- Alessandra Panzanelli, University of Turin, Piedmont
- Chiara Razzolini, Regione Toscana, Florence
- Michaela Scheibe, Staatsbibliothek, Berlin
- Ted Simonds, Lambeth Palace Library, London
- Richard Šípek, Head of the Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the National Museum in Prague
- David Shaw, former CERL Secretary (retired)
- Marina Venier, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Rome (retired)
- Federica Viazzi, Azienda Ospedaliera Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria
- Sarah Wheale, Bodleian Library, Oxford
- Non-CERL: Fabiano Cataldo de Azevedo, Federal University of Bahia. Brazil
The Provenance Working Group publishes an annual newsletter highlighting recent activities, projects, and developments in provenance research.
• Issue 1 (February 2025) – Download PDF
• Issue 2 (February 2026) – Download PDF
From Provenance Marks to Research Networks
By linking individual provenance marks to shared digital infrastructures, the Provenance Working Group helps transform scattered evidence into connected research data. Through the PDA and CERL databases, provenance information becomes searchable, reusable, and interoperable across institutions.
Resources
This section brings together CERL tools, databases, and reference resources supporting provenance research, documentation, and discovery. Resources are grouped by purpose to help users quickly find what they need.
Events
The Provenance Working Group’s online seminar series Provenance in Book History explores current research, methods, and digital approaches to provenance studies. Check this page for updates or click on previous events to view the details.
Contact information
For more information about the Provenance Working Group, please contact the Chair: Agnieszka Franczyk-Cegła, Ossolineum, Wrocław.