- Information
- Lending Desk
- Interlibrary Loan
- Special Reading Room
- Digitization
- Digitization Department
- Product catalogue, price list
- Placing an order
- Digital collections (German)
- Book sponsorships
Digitization Department
Aims
By setting up our own Digital Library the Württembergische Landesbibliothek intends to make available some of its most precious manuscripts and rare books, as well as material of special interest for regional history and research.
Both digitization and presentation are performed in accordance with the standards established by the DFG which are described in the DFG-Praxisregeln Digitalisierung.
The library workflow is supported by a workflowsoftware named Kitodo which connects and automates almost all of the processes involved from the import of catalogue-data to the preparation and supply of digital data via the internet.
Technology
The photographic treatment takes place in our own digitization workshop, to the extent that our own technical equipment allows. Particular attention is paid to preservation and a great deal of care is taken in the treatment of the items. To this end, digitization may only be undertaken if the preservation department agrees.
The „Grazer Buchtisch“ is a specially engineerd device which permits non-contact scanning of manuscripts; it operates with a Zeutschel line scanner, Omniscan 10000TT. The "Wolfenbüttler Buchspiegel“, another special device, is able to handle books with an angle of aperture of only 45° by using a glass prism. The digital camera is a CANON EOS 1DS Mark III.
This stationary equipment is supplemented by a partially mobile device, a so called "Cam Cradle", another contact-free operating device with a Nikon D3 camera.
Quality control
Once the digitization is completed, image processing follows in order to optimize colour, brightness, contrast and degree of sharpness such that the original quality is matched as closely as possible. Data is stored as master-data in tiff format for later use as well as for long-term preservation. Picture files used for internet presentation are generated using the jpeg format. Picture data is checked for insufficient quality and missing pages and reprocessing is initiated if necessary.
Finally the digital data are joined to their bibliographic metadata and linked to our „Digitale Bibliothek“
Presentation
Using the WLB homepage any guest, world-wide, has free access to the holdings of our digital collections. Access means the free viewing of single digital images, whole volumes and objects, all of which are arranged according to the special collections from which the media are taken.
Viewing and navigation within the screen presentation of a book is performed by means of the DFG-Viewer, a standardized browser-web service for viewing the digital images of many libraries, and which involves simple, selfexplanatory usage of the various features (Shell out, zooming, catalogue link).
The Digitization Department’s services are available at all times and offer high quality reproduction whether it be for private, scientific or commercial purposes. Please contact the digitization department and check the product catalogue for further information.