The long term aim of the library is to make as much of its archive as possible digital, depending on copyright restrictions. It already has a strong online presence with a vast amount of material available online, and has consequently seen traffic to its website double in the past five years. Items already digitised include the last letter of Mary Queen of Scots and the first atlas of Scotland.
National librarian Dr John Scally said, “We want people to be able to connect to our collections from wherever they are, rather than having to consult material in the library as has been the case for most of our existence. At no time in our history has it been easier to share the story of Scotland with a global audience.”
The National Library of Scotland’s archive of 24 million items includes rare books and manuscripts, maps, journals, audio recordings and eBooks. The new digitisation project will put Scottish culture old and new online for a global audience, including thousands of films on life in Scotland and a collection of items from last year’s independence referendum.
Naveed Ashraf, Managing Director of Pearl Scan Solutions commented, “It’s great to see that a UK library is leading the way in Europe in archive digitisation. The National Library of Scotland will be able to share millions of its treasured items with people all over the world thanks to digital technology. This is a fantastic achievement, as people no longer have to be bound by the restrictions of physical location or library opening times.
“Additionally, creating a digital archive is a way of protecting the history and heritage of the country. Books and paper documents are easily damaged and destroyed – making digital copies safeguards the past and ensures information is protected for future generations.
“We specialise in helping libraries, community centres and cultural groups create digital archives from their collections. Regardless of whether you have a small archive of local newspapers and magazines or a full building of historical documents, we can carefully digitise delicate, important documents without damaging the original copy. Create a digital archive today and share your resources with the world.”
