Islamic manuscripts are voices from the past, revealing scholarly debates and networks, as well as aspects of daily life. They allow us to witness the transmission of knowledge and economic and cultural exchanges of centuries gone by. The present articles mirror this variety of aspects involved when dealing with Islamic manuscripts, and emphasize their importance as sources for our knowledge of history. The articles cover research on single manuscripts, as well as collections, the problems of editing, as well as cataloguing. New technologies have extended the possibilities of preserving and presenting manuscripts – accessible online, digitised and catalogued, they serve an international research community and become a worldwide cultural heritage.