Mass Digitization for Research and Study: the digitization strategy of the Bavarian State Library

The Bavarian State Library is one of the largest European research libraries. The Library`s unique collection profile is characterized by extremely precious manuscripts, rare printed books and comprehensive special collections from thousands of years of cultural heritage. Responding to the challenges of the digital age, it is a primary strategic objective of the Bavarian State Library to digitize as soon as possible its unique collections, which are a good part of written cultural heritage, and to make them usable for the world. Aiming for this strategic objective, the library undertakes several large-scale digitization projects, which will bring more than 1.2 million books online during the next few years. The deployment of state-of-the-art robotic scanners as well as a public-private partnership with Google which are part of this digitization strategy are described in detail. The implications for the future role of libraries — especially as `bricks and books' institutions — in the rapidly changing information landscape is also briefly discussed.