Cataloguing and partial digitisation of the historical collection of the Library of the Evangelical Ministry in Erfurt

• Applicant: Dr. Kathrin Paasch
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology ; Early Modern History ; History of Science
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 512639395

The Gotha Research Library of the University of Erfurt, together with the Regional Church Archives of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and the Evangelical Church District of Erfurt, is planning the complete and interrelated online cataloguing of the historical collection of the Library of the Evangelical Ministry of Erfurt. It is of transregional importance and has been preserved at its historical location with its 97 medieval and early modern manuscripts as well as 8,446 prints from the 15th to 18th centuries. All library objects will be indexed according to the current guidelines and standards in the relevant online catalogues in a graduated method corresponding to the present cataloguing situation: the medieval manuscripts that have already been indexed will be listed in the Manuscripts Portal and the uncatalogued early modern manuscripts in the Kalliope Union Catalogue or in the Manuscripts Portal. All printed works will be indexed in the K10plus Union Catalogue. In accordance with the guidelines of the German Research Foundation, 96 medieval and early modern manuscripts as well as 369 prints of the 16th and 17th century will be digitized. The digital copies will be catalogued in K10plus, presented with meta and structural data via the Online Portal of the non-governmental Thuringian archives at the Thuringian University and State Library of Jena in accordance with the FAIR principles, freely and permanently accessible and archived for the long term. This will provide historically oriented research with an outstanding historical library collection, which has not yet been catalogued online according to current standards, as a closed and high-quality indexed corpus for broad academic questions. The project contributes to making the historical library objects preserved in the church libraries of the Federal Republic of Germany accessible for a vast research discourse and, last but not least, visible to the general public.

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Participating Institution: Landeskirchenarchiv Eisenach