IBM Big Data Tools Preserve European Heritage

IBM Big Data Tools Preserve European Heritage

by Darryl K. Taft

IBM Helps Preserve and Share Rare Medieval Texts

A big data management solution consisting of IBM System x servers and IBM storage is being used to preserve and digitize nearly 800,000 pages of European historical documents, including medieval manuscripts, at the Wroclaw University Library in Poland. Shown here is “The Great Missal,” from the Church of Mary Magdalene in Wroclaw, circa 1470, part of the Wroclaw University Library archives being digitized and made available online for the first time with IBM technology.
Photo courtesy of Wroclaw University Library, Poland

IBM Provides Fast Access to 300TB of Rare Texts

IBM’s solution is helping the Wroclaw University Library digitize, manage and provide fast online access to rare manuscripts, books and maps, many dating back to the Middle Ages, with a total capacity of 300 terabytes. Shown here is one of Europe’s six surviving copies of this particular medieval illuminated encyclopedia, the Thomas Cantimpratensis “Liber de nature rerum,” from the second half of the fifteenth century.
Photo courtesy of Wroclaw University Library, Poland

Rare Medieval Texts Available Online for First Time

The digitization project at the Wroclaw University Library creates the largest digital archive of medieval manuscripts and ancient geographical atlases in Poland. Shown here is a liturgical book used in the Orthodox Church, containing a collection of hymns, printed in 1525.
Photo courtesy of Wroclaw University Library, Poland

Digitizing Rare Archive Provides Global Access via Fast Search

IBM’s technology helps users quickly search for and retrieve such gems as the “Portolan Atlas,” shown here, a hand-drawn sailing map printed in Venice by famed cartographer Battista Agnese in 1540, part of the archives at the Wroclaw University Library.
Photo courtesy of Wroclaw University Library, Poland

Rows and Rows of Works Made Digital

The Wroclaw University Library, founded in 1811, houses unique documents such as medieval manuscripts and old prints, including the works of Martin Luther, Cervantes and Shakespeare, as well as rare maps and liturgical texts. The library is able to digitally preserve 800,000 pages of these rare documents and make them available online for the first time, thanks to IBM’s technology.
Photo courtesy of Wroclaw University Library, Poland

Old Books Preserved Like Fine Wine

Shown are just a few of the rare archival texts dating back to the Middle Ages that the Wroclaw University Library is digitally preserving and making available online.
Photo courtesy of Wroclaw University Library, Poland

Digitizing Medieval Texts

Library technicians scan and store rare manuscripts, books and maps—some dating back to the 1400s—at the Wroclaw University Library. The IBM solution for managing this big data project is making these texts and images available online for the first time, creating the largest digital archive of its kind in Poland.
Photo courtesy of Wroclaw University Library, Poland