Parker Library on the Web
Encyclopedia
Parker Library on the Web was a multi-year undertaking of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
, the Stanford University Libraries
and the Cambridge University Library
, to produce a high-resolution digital copy
of every imageable page in the 538 manuscripts described in M. R. James
Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College (Cambridge University Press
, 1912). The results were placed on a subscription-only interactive web application in which the manuscript page images can be used by scholars and students in the context of editions, translations and secondary sources.
The 538 items numbered and catalogued by James exist as 546 physical volumes. A very small number of these are printed books, mistakenly catalogued as manuscripts in the 18th century, and so were excluded. Additionally, there are a few manuscripts with paper pages which are badly damaged by moisture, or those with very fragile bindings, which at present cannot be successfully imaged in their totality. Exterior images were made of the present bindings of each manuscript.
The project is of major importance for creating and preserving quality images of unique materials. The project concluded in 2010, by which time access to the entire manuscript collection and associated secondary materials will be made available for purchase to the scholarly community.
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, the Stanford University Libraries
Green Library
The Cecil H. Green Library is the main library on the Stanford University campus and part of Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources . It is named for Cecil H. Green....
and the Cambridge University Library
Cambridge University Library
The Cambridge University Library is the centrally-administered library of Cambridge University in England. It comprises five separate libraries:* the University Library main building * the Medical Library...
, to produce a high-resolution digital copy
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
of every imageable page in the 538 manuscripts described in M. R. James
M. R. James
Montague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre...
Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College (Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1912). The results were placed on a subscription-only interactive web application in which the manuscript page images can be used by scholars and students in the context of editions, translations and secondary sources.
The 538 items numbered and catalogued by James exist as 546 physical volumes. A very small number of these are printed books, mistakenly catalogued as manuscripts in the 18th century, and so were excluded. Additionally, there are a few manuscripts with paper pages which are badly damaged by moisture, or those with very fragile bindings, which at present cannot be successfully imaged in their totality. Exterior images were made of the present bindings of each manuscript.
The project is of major importance for creating and preserving quality images of unique materials. The project concluded in 2010, by which time access to the entire manuscript collection and associated secondary materials will be made available for purchase to the scholarly community.