IT and Libraries: Digitization of rare books of the Saints Cyril and Methodius National Library in Bulgaria is underway

Rare books from the Saints Cyril and Methodius National Library (Bulgaria) collections have been being digitized using Russian scan equipment. The first book to be digitized by ElarScan А2 was the 16th c. Four Gospels with the 18th c. silver binding.

The institution launched the digitization initiative in 2013. ElarScan А2 equipment was placed in the National Library’s Reading Room in 2017. According to the Library’s Director, Professor Krasimira Alexandrova, the scanner is perfect for digitizing both complex documents, like early printed books and manuscripts, and for scanning contemporary books.

“So far by means of the new equipment we have digitized more than 40,000 pages from the library’s different collections. 8,491 pages have been scanned from the Oriental Department collections, 21,394 — from the Reading Room and the Manuscripts and Old Books Department and 11,857 pages from the Historic Archive. Even today digital copies of some documents available on the Internet guide readers through our extensive collections”, — stressed Gabriella Angelova, archivist of the National Library.