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Preliminary considerations:

• The project foresees the complete digitization of 3,900 manuscripts belonging to the Plutei collection and of the 18th century catalogues which describe them. On conservation grounds it will be possible that a limited number of manuscripts will not not be digitized. The project is scheduled to finish by December 2010.


• Users can search the Plutei digital collection by using one of the three search tools provided:
  
  - ricerca libera (free search): by simply inserting the word o the words to be searched in the mask at the centre of the page and clicking the Cerca (Search) button
  
  
  - ricerca base (base search): by creating a personalised search through the combination of attributes and cross-reference of records (e.g.: the works by St. Augustine datable to the 13th century)
  
  
  - ricerca avanzata (advanced search): by creating queries using a series of advanced tools such as Boolean operators
  


• In order to find the relevant digitized images it is possible to search the database by :
  
  - segnatura (shelfmark): using the form "Plut.xx.yy" with the desired shelfmark instead of "xx.yy" (e.g.: Plut.01.56)
  
  - secolo (century), digiting a precise date (e.g.: "586") or a range (e.g. "1201-1300" for the 13th century)
  
  - autore (author), using the Latin form of the name, in the nominative case (to find works by St. Augustine it is necessary to digit "Augustinus")
  
  - titolo (title), digiting the title of a work in its Latin form (e.g.: "De civitate Dei")
  
  Users can combine these search keys or opt for a free search.


• In order to have a deeper understanding of how the system works it is possible to click the following links and visualize the recordings of some explanatory search procedures



Ricerca Libera (free search)
	Plut.01.31 (keyword:Plut.01.31)		Plut.02.37 (keyword:anonymus)		Plut.40.03 (keyword:Dantes)
	Plut.41.24 (keyword:Thomas)		Plut.41.35 (keyword:Boccaccius)		Plut.43.19 (keyword:rhetor*)
			Plut.53.04 (keyword:Petrarcha)
Ricerca Base (base search)
	Plut.01.56 (Segnatura:Plut.01.*)		Plut.05.09 (Titolo:catena)		Plut.12.17 (Autore:Augustinus; Titolo:De civitate Dei; Datazione: 1201-1210)
			Plut.39.06 (Autore:Virgilus; Datazione: 1401-1500)



• The data (metadata) concerning century / author / title derive entirely from the historical catalogues. These data do not catalogue the manuscripts in any way but codify relevant information that can be found in the historical catalogues and that is necessary to identify the digital objects.


• In the indexing process the structure of the data supplied by the historical catalogues has been reproduced (viz. a general heading describing the manuscript as a whole and single descriptions of the textual units contained by the manuscript). All these data can be searched.



• It is possible to search the database in various ways, viz. to search a) all documents (= records concerning historic catalogues, all text units, all catalogue headings); b) records concerning all text units; c) records concerning all catalogue headings; d) records concerning the historical catalogues.



• The database does not comprize data concerning digitizations or metadata concerning manuscripts in the Plutei collection that have not been digitized on conservation grounds or plutei or printed texts once present in the Plutei collection that have been transferred to the Biblioteca Magliabechina (now Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze) in 1783. The database comprises nevertheless data concerning printed matter still present in the Plutei collection in the Library.



• To date the database comprises 1655 Plutei (from Plut.01.05 to 53.32).



• The database online is not complete for technical reasons. It comprised only the complete digitization of the manuscripts afore mentioned and the relevant metadata concerning the headings of the historical catalogues. The data (metadata) concerning the single textual units is not accessible. They will be accessible later on in the project. Data is still being checked and undergoing pre-normalization. Nonetheless the project does not foresee a true normalization. This will follow.



• Comments and suggestions are wellcome: b-mela.manoscritti@beniculturali.it



• Terms of use

Links to related materials (in chronological order):

1. E. Degl'Innocenti - S. Magrini Digitizing Cultural Heritage: the Digital Library of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Eva 2009 Florence. Proceedings Ed. by V. Cappellini and James Hemsley, Bologna, Pitagora Editrice, 2009 (pp. 58-63)
2. Linee guida per gli indicizzatori (rel. 26.02.2009)
3. E. Degl'Innocenti, Il Progetto di digitalizzazione dei Plutei della Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana di Firenze, Digitalia giugno 2007