Cycle of a book - part 5/5: Making the processed books accessible

Published on 15 May 2015

During the project’s implementation, processed cataloguing records are temporarily accessible only internally within the National Library. The reasons for this include the necessity for expert legal examination of the books and ongoing research into the historical context. Selected titles will be digitized to make them accessible to the public; for example, via the virtual exhibition which is one of the project’s outputs.

Bibliographic records are saved in an electronic catalogue of the National Library. During the project’s implementation, the processed books are accessible only to National Library employees to enable them to perform checks and map the broader documentation evidencing their original holders, and also to allow their current legal status to be established, which is one of the important outputs of the project.

Freemasons’ literature and other selected important documents will subsequently be digitized with the use of a digitization line for modern documents. They will be processed in compliance with valid standards for pictorial files (JPEG2000) and metadata schemas (METS, MODS, PREMIS, MIX). The digital data will be provided with clear persistent identification, which will enable the future creation of a virtual collection within the Kramerius system, facilitate specialised harvests for supranational initiatives (Europeana, UNESCO, etc.), and, of course, enable the creation of a virtual exhibition which is among the outputs of the “Books Discovered Once Again” project. The digital data will subsequently be stored within a back-up module of the National Library, which should ensure their safe storage and long-term protection for future generations.