The Vatican Library was established in 1451 “pro communi doctorum virorum commodo” that is, “for the common convenience of the learned.” Convenience is now turning to inconvenience as the library prepares to close for three years for renovations. According to the BBC and the Guardian, improvements are needed to provide climate controlled conditions and reinforce the floors to support heavy digitizing equipment. It also appears that the reading room will be taken over by conservators to catch up on book repairs.
The hundred or so researchers who use the library every day will have to content themselves with microfilms and digital images provided by the library. I guess you could say this is an experiment in e-libraryism (?) on just about the grandest possible scale. I feel sorry for anyone in the middle of his or her PhD research there. The library closes July 14 and is scheduled to re-open in September 2010.
Some of the highlights of the 1.6 million volume Vatican Library collection can be seen online at Treasures of the Library. I also found an exciting online exhibition called Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library & Renaissance Culture which has scads of images from books treating all manner of subjects. Enjoy!
via rogueclassicism
