Book digitization projects are a growing effort in the United States and around the world. One of the great benefits of this work is the opportunity to make rare manuscripts available to the masses. Texts that were previously only accessible in museums and libraries’ rare book collections had to be visited in person for one to see them. Even then, the rarest of the rare are kept in a locked glass display case or other restricted area.

 

However, a growing number of rare manuscripts are being published online. These texts, which were once locked up, are now easily available to the world. Because the copyrights have generally expired decades ago, they can often be viewed or downloaded for free. This accessibility provided by book digitization is truly a revolution in the world of rare manuscripts. The way that people think of and use these texts is expected to change dramatically within the next thirty years.

 

The first advantage of digitizing rare manuscripts is that they will be more widely used. It has been shown that when special collections are published online and made freely available, people do access and use them. Therefore, the information contained in them does not go to waste. Another benefit is that new types of research can be done. Certain historical information and literary works that have been “buried” will become more available, inspiring new research. The more people that are able to access rare manuscripts, the more uses will be found for them.

 

Digitization will likely change the entire nature of rare book collections in the near future. With digitized copies readily available, no one will have a reason to access them in person. The use of the original rare manuscripts will decrease. Over time, more and more digitized copies of each document will be made. The contents of special collections will no longer be considered so rare or unique when they’re readily available for anyone to view online.

 

Many of the rare manuscripts that have been made available to the masses with book digitization are displayed in online virtual exhibits. Most of these are created by universities and large libraries and display an entire collection of rare texts. The online exhibits offered by the United States Library of Congress are among the most well-known. The Library of Congress has made itself a leader in this field, providing a vast amount of digitized books that can be accessed by anyone on the internet.

 

One problem is that most public libraries do not have the time or funds to digitize their collections of rare manuscripts. Many people within the rare book world are taking notice of this. Some grants have been issued to help public libraries digitize their rare manuscripts, but there is still a vast amount of work to be done. This is certainly an issue that requires more attention in the future, as digitization becomes more widely practiced and well-known.

 

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