Information technology and libraries: Rare manuscripts from the collection of the National Library of Tatarstan to be digitized

At the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan with the help of professional scanning equipment will be digitized rare local history publications and Turkic-Tatar manuscripts.

The project is implemented within the framework of the State Program "The preservation, study and development of the state languages ​​of the Republic of Tatarstan and other languages ​​in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2014-2020". The main objectives of the program include the development of the Tatar language as the foundation of national culture, means of communication and the consolidation of the Tatar people and contribute to the preservation of languages ​​of other peoples living in the country, raising the overall level of cross-language and speech culture of tolerance.

"The manuscripts, which we plan to convert into electronic form, are the book monuments. Digitization of rare documents will restrict the use of originals and replacing them with electronic copies. This will eliminate the risk of damage to the primary sources, ensure their safety and the possibility of access to users in the library", - says Marina Kornilova, head of the Department of Library and Information Technologies of the National Library of Tatarstan.

Today the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan is a multi-research institution and the only public library in the world, engaged in a preservation and dissemination of the Tatar books and literature about the republic. Its fund contains more than 3.2 million documents, of which 85 000 - in the Tatar language.