The Parker Library On the Web manuscript digitisation project started a new era for research into medieval culture through detailed study of medieval manuscripts from anywhere in the world. It democratized the availability and access to full digital copies of an entire library’s collection of medieval and early modern manuscripts by opening virtual doors to researchers everywhere. 

Dr Stewart Brookes, manuscript researcher currently at the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford,  reminds us what this pioneering project achieved. He remembers the years before large-scale digitisation, when researchers relied on a small selection of online images and on personal research trips to the repositories that privileged the few in either close proximity to the manuscripts or those who had the time and financial means to travel. Parker Library On the Web fulfilled the most basic, yet the most important need of all manuscript researchers: it provided access to our medieval manuscripts, through high-quality images. It digitised them cover to cover, and made them all available online, everywhere. Moreover, it provided a model of what manuscript digitisation could offer – a platform for active research. 

Celebrating the 15th anniversary of Parker Library On the Web

The video is a part of a series of videos marking the 15th anniversary of Parker Library On the Web. Stay tuned for the next instalment where we’ve interviewed a current user – a professor using the physical manuscripts to teach students. What could the digitised manuscripts offer to teaching?

Other posts:

Parker's Gift | The Parker Library | The Early Years | Ambition and Achievement | Teaching with Medieval Manuscripts