Japanese firm to digitalize Vatican Library

Sistine Hall of Vatican Library

The Vatican Apostolic Library and the Japanese firm NTT DATA signed an agreement on Thursday that will result in the rapid digitalization of 3,000 valuable historical manuscripts over the next four years. This is the first step in the planned digitalization of all the 82,000 manuscripts preserved in the Library.

The project was announced at a news conference held in the Holy See’s Press Office that included interventions by Monsignor Jean Louis Brugues, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, Monsignor Cesare Pasini, Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library and by Toshio Iwamoto, the President and CEO of NTT DATA.

After scanning and archiving the digitalized manuscripts, all of them will be released on the Library’s website as high-definition image data. The project was described as a new milestone in making available to scholars and the general public the immense treasure of valuable historical manuscripts that the Vatican Apostolic Library is preserving for mankind.

The Vatican Apostolic Library is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, many of the manuscripts and books are much older, dating back to the earliest days of the Church.

Source: VIS/NTT DATA