When is a Library not a Library?

Fionnuala Croke, Chester Beatty LibraryA&SL Annual Conference February 2014

Part 1: introduction to Chester Beatty

Beatty’s first wife with their daughter Ninette and son Chester, 1907

Baroda House, Kensington Palace Gardens, London

Edith Beatty, c. 1913

Ninette and Chester Jnr, Cairo

Baroda House, Library c.1913 (W.G. Beatty)

© RIBA Library Photographs Collection

Baroda House, Garden Library (photo 1937)

Baroda House, Garden Library (converted stables), 1937

Above: the conservatory at Baroda (with Beatty’s Chinese ceiling superimposed)

Below: a glimpse from the picture gallery into the Chinese Library/converted conservatory

Clock Tower, Dublin Castle Reference Library with Chinese ceiling

Shrewsbury Road Reading Roomwith Chinese ceiling

Chester Beatty Library, Chinese ceiling

The Chester Beatty Library, Shrewsbury Road, Dublin, opened 8 August 1953

Chester Beatty Library, Clock Tower BuildingDublin Castle (opened 2000)

So, when is a library not a library?

. . . when it’s a museum

. . . when it’s a visitor attraction

. . . when it’s a forum for intercultural dialogue!

Part 2: Chester Beatty: the digital challenges

CBL In 30, ff. 1b-2aIlluminated FrontispieceThe Treasure of Khawarizm Shah (medical encyclopedia)Golconda, India, 1572

Before and after conservation.

CBL Is 1558, f.445aIlluminated Endpiece, al-Qur'an Ruzbihan Muhammad al-Tab‘i al-ShiraziMid-16th century, Shiraz, Iran

CBL Heb, f.43vSamaritan Pentateuch13th century

In 2012, over 1000 high resolution images were added to the collection, including two fully conserved and digitised manuscripts.

CBL Ar 3029, Rahmat al-umma fi 'khtilaf al-a'imma: An account of the points of agreement and difference between four Sunni schools of law, dated 21 January, 1473

1960s: The CBL began capturing Arabic manuscripts on microfilm. Over 2200 of these are now available in a digital format.

CBL Image Gallery launched 2008 (beta) and 2010 cbl.ie/Image-Gallery.aspx

Chester Beatty Library Digital Initiative

Telling Images of China: Narrative and Figure Paintings from the Shanghai MuseumDigital and In-Gallery Exhibitions, 2010, cbl.ie/china/

Chester Beatty Library Digital Initiative

CBL Islamic Seals Database www.cbl.ie/islamicseals

Chester Beatty Library Digital Initiative

For each seal, the database provides the ability to:

• Zoom Image• View Full Folio• View Catalogue

Scholars submit the following moderated information:

• Date• Shape

• Arabic Transcription• Transliteration

• Translation• Identify Person/Institution

• Identify other seal appearances

• General comments

Treasures of the Chester Beatty LibraryiOS App - 2013

Chester Beatty Library Digital Initiative

Virtual Collection of Masterpieces (ASEMUS: Asia Europe Museum Network)masterpieces.asemus.museum

Digital Humanities Observatory - Ireland

discovery.dho.ie

International Collaborations

The Chester Beatty Library actively collaborates with funded projects throughout the world, conduct research into our collections, assist with

digitisation and help increase accessibility though online databases and repositories.

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

CBL J 1107, detail, two volume handscrollYoshitsune’s Invasion of Hell, 17th Century Japan

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

Since 2003, the HUMI project has helped the Chester Beatty

Library create around 8000 images of Japanese picture and

story scrolls in our collection.

The HUMI Project Keio University, Japan

humi.keio.ac.jp

Art Research CentreRitsumeikan University, Japan

arc.ritsumei.ac.jp

In 2010, The Art Research Centre at Ritsumeikan University helped the Chester Beatty Library create over 800 images of Japanese prints in

our collection.

CBL J 2125Cleaver, plate, cup stand and cherry blossom  by Hokkei

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

Index of Christian ArtPrinceton University, USA

ica.princeton.edu

In 2012, the Chester Beatty Library uploaded over 300 images to the Index of

Christian Art database at Princeton University.

CBL W 099, f. 1Jesus Christ, Rosarium of Phillip II of Spain, c. 1530, Bruges, Belgium

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

CBL J 1214The Bodhisattva Jizo,Hanging Scroll, 15th Century Japan

Japanese Buddhist Art in Europe Database Hosei University, Japan and the University of

Zurich, Switzerlandaterui.i.hosei.ac.jp:8080/oguchi

Since 2011, the Chester Beatty Library has been contributing images of Japanese Buddhist

materials in our collection to this online database.

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

The Manichean Kephalaia ProjectNational Endowment for the Humanities, USA and

the Australian Research Council

CBL BP I, f. 29v detail

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

New Testament Virtual Manuscript RoomWestfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany

ntvmr.uni-muenster.de

The Chester Beatty Library is able to contribute our highest resolution images (ca. 225 mb) because the NT.VMR does not allow for high resolution download of complete images. The

annotated clips, however, allow for in-depth research into this important material.

Chester Beatty Library Collaborative Partnership

Time to Adoption Horizon 2011 2013

One Year or Less Mobile Apps BYOD

  Tablet Computing Crowdsourcing

Two to Three Years Augmented Reality Electronic Publishing

  Electronic Publishing BYOD

Four to Five Years Digital Preservation Natural User Interfaces

  Smart Objects Preservation and Conservation Technologies

New Media Consortium: The Horizon Report > 2013 Museum Edition

Emerging Technologies

http://www.nmc.org/publications/2013-horizon-report-museum

http://www.t-systems.com

fcroke@cbl.ie