A second paper on Europeana Regia was presented at the 40th Annual LIBER Conference (Association of European Research Libraries) in Barcelona (29 June – 2 July 2011). This presentation also provides a general outline of the main elements of the Europeana Regia project, with an emphasis on the particular challenges to be faced when digitally reconstructing collections of medieval manuscripts.

1. Europeana Regia: a collaborative library of royal manuscripts from Medieval and Renaissance Europe LIBER 40th Annual Conference. Barcelona, 29 June – 2 July 2011 Ana Barbeta (Biblioteca de la Universitat de València) Claudia Fabian (Bayersische Staatsbibliothek)

2. The Europeana Regia Project Collaboration Digitization of a corpus of manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Virtual reconstructions of important royal collections Integration in Europeana Focus on users LIBER 40th Annual Conference 2

4. Library of Charles V of France(14th Century)

5. Library of the Aragonese Kings of Naples (15th-16th Centuries)LIBER 40th Annual Conference 3

7. Library of Charles V of France 167 manuscripts belonging to the king’s library known as Bibliothèque du Louvre LIBER 40th Annual Conference 5

9. Europeana Regia partners Bibliothèque nationale de France Bayerische Staatbibliothek Biblioteca de la Universitat de València Herzog August Bibliothek Bibliothèque Royal de Belgique French libraries Other collaborations European CommissionInformation and Communication Technology Policy Support Programme LIBER 40th Annual Conference 7

10. Some figures LIBER 40th Annual Conference 8

11. Main tasks Digitization Description: dealing with metadata Integration in Europeana and other portals The Europeana Regia website User as the ultimate goal LIBER 40th Annual Conference 9

12. Digitization (1) Concerns for the digitization of ancient manuscripts Age and value of documents Importance of details Most common difficulties Fidelity to the original and quality control Long term preservation policies LIBER 40th Annual Conference 10

14. Digitization from the original document only

15. Manuscript digitized in its entirety

16. Full page digitization, one image per page

17. Standardized technical parameters (file format, compression, resolution, colour depth...)

18. Inclusion of metric rulers and colour charts

19. Controlled conditions (lighting, special devices...)

20. No changes to the equipment within the same manuscriptLIBER 40th Annual Conference 11

21. Descriptions: dealing with metadata Problems with describing Medieval and Early Modern manuscripts Different institutional starting points Different metadata schemas used: TEI, EAD, MARC Defining two metadata levels for ER descriptions: Core metadata Academic metadata Establishing metadata mapping and crosswalks to ESE Standardizing terminology and vocabulary LIBER 40th Annual Conference 12

22. Integration Europeana portal The European Library (TEL) as the aggregator for ER Integration in other websites: Gallica, Manuscripta Medievalia, Belgica Local access to ER content LIBER 40th Annual Conference 13

23. The Europeana Regia website http://europeanaregia.eu LIBER 40th Annual Conference 14

24. Users as the ultimate goal Target audience Researchers and academics Secondary school teachers Interested general public Different needs and expectation For specific research For a general understanding these documents in context “Cultivate new ways for users to participate in their cultural heritage” (Europeana Strategic Plan 2011-2015) LIBER 40th Annual Conference 15

25. Some final considerations Added benefits of Europeana Regia To overcome the particularity of each manuscript to present them together in their original cultural context To foster trans-institutional and trans-border cooperation Building a new virtual context: difficulties and challenges To compare procedures and work on an international level To identify the possibilities of new technology LIBER 40th Annual Conference 16

26. Thank you for your attention barbeta@uv.es claudia.fabian@bsb-muenchen.de LIBER 40th Annual Conference 17