Barbara Crostini: Digitising Greek Manuscripts: benefits and prospects.

The world of Greek palaeography is changing due to the increasing number of digitization projects from major libraries, though the task is still far from comprehensive. I undertook the task of cataloguing the small collection of Greek manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin Ireland in 2010, and funding these new descriptions also initiated the process of complete digitization of the corpus. At the same time, these activities drew attention to the poor state of conservation of many of the Greek codices, and as a result, many were re-bound and conserved.

Drawing on this hands-on experience, I would like to highlight the benefits of integral digitization for the long-term life of manuscripts in their respective libraries. An important result of making manuscripts available online is to raise awareness about their existence and facilitate their study across disciplines. This stimulation in turn gives rise to an interest in their preservation and thus benefits the codices individually and collectively. Trinity College has exploited its famous holding of the Book of Kells and other precious Medieval Latin books in order to draw millions of visitors and has used the funding thus raised for the conservation of its wide collection of rare books and manuscripts.

At the same time, prospective users of these databases of images must be formed through the teaching at University level of Greek palaeography also as a way of introducing students to the language and literature transmitted by these manuscripts. Although much funding has to go into the technical aspects of obtaining and uploading images, the catalogue descriptions and the formation of potential users cannot be entirely side-lined without potentially disastrous effects, namely, to make the digitization effort useless in the long run.

My current project for Ars edendi, Stockholm, is to make available online a Vatican Psalter manuscript from the 11th century, emphasizing the connection between the words of its unique commentary and the images through the interactive electronic medium of presentation.