Celebrating 10 Years of e-manuscripta.ch
On the 13th of March 2023 e-manuscripta.ch, the platform for digitised manuscript material from Swiss libraries and archives, will celebrate its 10th anniversary.
external page e-manuscripta.ch was first launched online on 13th March 2013 as a platform for digitised manuscript material from Swiss libraries and archives. It began life as a cooperative project between three Swiss University libraries – the ETH Library, the Universitätsbibliothek Basel and the Zentralbibliothek Zürich – who financed its development. Since 2016 these three founding institutions have been responsible for the portal in conjunction with the Swiss National Library. The support, maintenance and infrastructure of the portal’s technical aspects is undertaken by the ETH Zurich, while the overall coordination and business lead is the responsibility of the Zentralbibliothek Zürich.
From further developments to re-design
The platform has embraced the latest technical standards from the very beginning and benefits from constant further development. New partner institutions have joined and due to the steady upload of digital files, the user can now access over 150,000 documents spanning the 6th to the 21st century. These include handwritten correspondence and manuscript texts as well as sheet music, manuscript maps, drawings and photographs. The year 2018 saw the launch of a transcription tool complete with editorial policy, which has enabled the interested public to become actively involved by transcribing and annotating the documents presented online.
A comprehensive re-design in 2022 gave the platform a fresh overall look as well as additional technical features to enhance user experience and render the content even easier to use. Various new interfaces now facilitate the transferral of data into other environments, enabling further work with the digitised resources. Thus, e-manuscripta.ch has transitioned from a purely presentational platform to a research and publication platform, promoting collaborative work.
Occasions to celebrate the 10th anniversary
The anniversary is to be celebrated in style with an opulent array of events: on the 13th and 14th of March 2023 a symposium will be hosted by the Zentralbibliothek Zürich to stimulate exchange and discussion among representatives from both Swiss and international libraries and archives on possible future directions for the development of the software “Visual Library”.
On the 13th of March 2023 Prof. Dr. Malte Rehbein (Chair of Digital Humanities at the University of Passau) will present the anniversary guest lecture entitled “Auf dem Weg zu Big Data? Handschriftenerschliessung zwischen Fachwissen, Citizen Science und K.I.” (“On the Road to Big Data? Cataloguing Manuscripts using Specialist Knowledge, Citizen Science Participation and A.I.”).
external page Information and registration for the lecture
Contact
Dr. Alexa Renggli, Office Manager e-manuscripta.ch, tel. 044 268 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: 155,000 titles.