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IMC 2007: Sessions

Session 928: Medieval Manuscripts in Dutch Collections: A New Online Database

Tuesday 10 July 2007, 19.30-20.30

Sponsor:Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag
Organiser:Jacobine Kiel, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag
Moderator/Chair:Jacobine Kiel, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag
Abstract

Medieval manuscripts in the Netherlands provide a fascinating insight into the cultural, intellectual and historical context of this period. Since all information about these manuscripts and related knowledge and expertise is very dispersed, a consortium of Dutch libraries, consisting of the National Library and the university libraries of Leiden, Amsterdam and Groningen, initiated the national project Medieval Manuscripts in Dutch Collections (www.mmdc.nl). The aim of the project is to create uniform descriptions of all 8,000 medieval manuscripts that are preserved in Dutch collections and to complement this information with expert analysis. This initiative of the Dutch National Library is not an isolated project; many libraries holding manuscript collections are in the process of making their catalogues electronically accessible. The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) has developed a portal which allows researchers to search a growing number of these catalogues simultaneously – even in combination with the Hand Press Book Database of early prints if so desired. During this session, we would like to introduce both the Dutch portal and the CERL Portal to the international public. We will explain the contents of the portals and the databases and demonstrate the opportunities they provide for researchers. We will also show some new findings, such as a recently discovered manuscript and new research on previously little known manuscripts in the Netherlands. Finally, we will highlight some of CERL’s other initiatives, such as the provenance website and the CERL Thesaurus.
Participants include Liesbeth Oskamp (Consortium of European Research Libraries, Den Haag) and Saskia Van Bergen (Department of Art History, Universiteit van Amsterdam).