Reuters: Most Read Articles: Oxford University, Vatican libraries to digitize works

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Oxford University, Vatican libraries to digitize works Apr 11th 2012, 23:05 Tweet Share this Email Print Students at the University of Oxford are seen in the quadrangle at the Bodleian Library, January 22, 2003. Credit: Reuters/Peter Macdiarmid Related News Timbuktu librarians protect manuscripts from rebels Wed, Apr 11 2012 Encyclopedia Britannica ends print, goes digital Wed, Mar 14 2012 Analysis & Opinion The recession killed journalism – and saved it Our social-media amnesia LONDON | Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:05pm EDT LONDON (Reuters) - The Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (BAV) said on Thursday they intended to digitize 1.5 million pages of ancient texts and make them freely available online. The libraries said the digitized collections will centre on three subject areas: Greek manuscripts, 15th-century printed books and Hebrew manuscripts and early printed books. The areas have been chosen for the strength of the collections in both libraries and their importance for scholarship in their respective fields. With approximately two-thirds of the material coming from the BAV and the remainder from the Bodleian, the digitization effort will also benefit scholars by uniting virtually materials that have been dispersed between the collections for centuries. "Transforming these ancient texts and images into digital form helps transcend the limitations of time and space which have in the past restricted access to knowledge," Bodley's librarian Sarah Thomas said. "Scholars will be able to interrogate these documents in fresh approaches as a result of their online availability." The initiative has been made possible by a 2 million pound ($3.17 million) award from the Polonsky Foundation. "The service to humanity which the Vatican Library has accomplished over almost six centuries, by preserving its cultural treasures and making them available to readers, finds here a new avenue which confirms and amplifies its universal vocation through the use of new tools, thanks to the generosity of the Polonsky Foundation and to the sharing of expertise with the Bodleian Libraries," Holy See Librarian Cardinal Raffaele Farina said. ($1 = 0.6314 British pounds) (Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Patricia Reaney) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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