e-manuscripta.ch: modern design and improved functionality
A new look for the Swiss manuscripts platform
e-manuscripta.ch, the platform for handwritten documents in Swiss libraries and archives, has a new design as of today. As well as the fresh look, there are enhanced technical features that improve usability and make the content even easier to use. The switch to responsive design now lets you access e-manuscripta.ch on your mobile phone or tablet in a straightforward way.
e-manuscripta.ch launched online around ten years ago in March 2013. Today, the platform showcases over a million digitised objects: manuscripts, letters, music resources, drawings and photographs, all exclusively from Swiss libraries and archives. For the first time since its inception, the platform has undergone a comprehensive redesign incorporating not only enhanced visuals, but also a more intuitive way of using individual content thanks to technical upgrades.
Transcribe and search
The transcription tool, which is widely used and valued by Citizen Science projects and that allows selected correspondence or manuscript material to be transcribed, has greater prominence. Access and login to this feature are now much easier, and the tool is generally simpler and more intuitive to use as a result of reconfiguration of the control and navigational aspects.
Similarly, source material can now also be found more efficiently. Newly programmed search workflows mean more targeted retrieval of image data. The themed collections are available as new filter options in the search facets. Plus, you can now export data in RIS format and create personal collections of selected works from the platform using literature management systems like Zotero, Citavi or EndNote.
New links to IIIF viewers
As well as providing access to digitised resources and managing the import/export workflow, e-manuscripta.ch now offers a brand-new feature: the International Image Interoperability Framework – abbreviated to IIIF – lets you collect digital files in a browser, even outside of e-manuscripta.ch, where they can be utilised and compared using various image analysis tools. This has been made possible by two newly linked IIIF viewers provided by the ZB-Lab of the Zentralbibliothek Zürich. Navigating from the title view page, you can, for instance, click to export any number of digital files from e-manuscripta.ch into the Mirador viewer, where you can manage their organisation in a single browser tab. Additional IIIF-enabled resources from other institutions can be added to these personal collections.
This myriad of new features makes e-manuscripta.ch one of the most innovative platforms for digitised cultural heritage resources, specialised in implementing current trends in user and research communities in a visually appealing way. The platform with its new look and feel can look forward to its tenth anniversary next year.
Contact
Dr Alexa Renggli, Office Manager e-manuscripta.ch, phone: +41 44 268 43 65 (direct) or
external page e-manuscripta.ch is the portal for digitised manuscript material from Swiss libraries and archives. The spectrum ranges from text manuscripts (single and collective), through to correspondence by individuals and institutions, but also comprises music documents, manuscript maps, drawings, and photographs.
The portal, which went online in 2013, was developed and financed cooperatively by three Swiss university libraries – the ETH Library, the Universitätsbibliothek Basel and the Zentralbibliothek Zürich. It continues to be managed collaboratively by these three institutions in conjunction with the Swiss National Library (NL). Many other institutions have also made their stock available, thereby expanding the range of material hosted on the portal. Currently available online: 138'000 titles.
