Cataloguing Courses


Medieval manuscript fragments constitute a vast and largely unexplored part of Europe’s written cultural heritage, surviving in the bindings of old books, as covers for archival records, piled into boxes, or framed in private collections. Digital library technologies enable fragments to be identified, catalogued, and published, so that scholars and the larger public can get a unique perspective on a past thought destroyed, using these scattered remnants to reconstruct a lost whole, reassembling a leaf from a series of strips, a manuscript from a few leaves, or a tradition from a group of dismembered manuscripts. This Cataloguing Course proposes to introduce participants to the types of fragments, their digitisation, and their publication on the Fragmentarium platform.

Participants of the first cataloguing course, Fribourg 2019

Photo: Participants in the first Cataloguing Course, Fribourg, August 2019

Goals:

At the end of the course, participants shall be able

  • to identify the different types of fragments (in situ, detached, cuttings, ex calamitate) and the unique challenges they propose for conservation, research, and publication
  • to evaluate the scientific quality of fragment images
  • to articulate the principles of interoperability and the spectrum of licenses that enable or hinder it
  • to produce a summary description of fragments in accordance with contemporary scientific standards
  • to publish fragment images and descriptions on the Fragmentarium platform.

Target Groups:

This course aims at Librarians and Archivists, including those working in Special Collections, Manuscript Specialists, Book Historians, M.A. students, doctoral students, postdocs, and researchers in medieval studies. Courses can be given in English, French, Italian, and German.

 

Currently Scheduled Cataloguing Courses:

  • École nationale des chartes, Paris, October 21-22
  • University College Dublin, Autumn 2021 (Details forthcoming)
  • For more information on cataloguing courses, or for inquiries regarding organizing one in your area, please contact the Fragmentarium team

Previous Cataloguing Courses:

"Digital beschreiben - Katalogisierung für mittelalterliche Handschriftenfragmente" 2020 August 27-28, Universität Freiburg, Switzerland

Fragmentarium Cataloguing Course 1, 2019 August 26-28