From the Middle Ages to the Present - Making the Written Heritage available in the Manuscriptorium, Kramerius and eSbirky.cz Digital Libraries
From the Middle Ages to the Present - Making the Written Heritage available in the Manuscriptorium, Kramerius and eSbirky.cz Digital Libraries

Summary/Abstract: During the 1990s, experts from the National Library of the Czech Republic, together with their colleagues from the Albertina Icome Praha company, participated in defining the principles and technological procedures for the digitization of historical manuscripts and other types of library documents threatened by paper degradation, as well as in developing formats that enable work with digitized documents, their management, and accessibility. Since these activities were promoted by UNESCO, the results benefited not only Czech libraries but also the international professional community. Today, the Czech Republic is among the countries with exceptionally advanced technology for digitizing library documents and managing digital data. The Manuscriptorium, Kramerius, and eSbirky.cz digital libraries are widely used tools for accessing the digital content of a significant part of Czech cultural heritage. Manuscriptorium also functions as a European digital library for historical collections. This study presents key moments in the development of library digitization in the Czech Republic and characterizes the above-mentioned digital libraries and describes how digitital copies are made accessible.

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