Digitising historical catalogues

Tra passato e prospettive innovative per la storia delle biblioteche

Abstract

This paper proposes some innovative perspectives in the digital reconstruction of entire bibliographic collections starting with the “Cataloghi Storici Digitalizzati” project, one of the first initiatives that characterized the activity of the Steering Committee of the
Biblioteca Digitale Italiana (BDI). Thanks to the analysis of some projects about the “virtual” or “ideal” reconstruction of single collections or whole libraries, this research has addressed
the methodological issues related to purposes, tools and requirements for the realization of a prototype for a database and an aggregator in which to bring together the data related to the digitization and study of an ancient library catalog. The case study relates to the reconstruction of the Bibliotheca Secreta of the Jesuit College of Rome, a project started at the National Central Library of Rome and in collaboration with the Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali.