The Imaging Lab recently completed the digitisation of 301 manuscripts with lecture notes of the ancient University of Louvain. Digitisation took place as part of the Magister Dixit project, for Lectio, and with support of the InBev-Baillet Latour Fund. Lecture notes have naturally been scattered all over Europe but both KU Leuven and the UCL built up extensive collections after the destruction of the library during World War II in which 68 manuscripts were lost. The recently gathered collection is now virtually reunited.
A total of 119.347 images were captured and – thanks to the University Library Central Services, Metadata Department – enriched with high-level metadata. The collection will be accessible through a newly developed platform (by LIBIS).
These manuscripts form one of the most tangible witnesses of education at the old Leuven university. As such, they complement the extant archives of the ancient University, which received the status of UNESCO World Documentary Heritage in 2013.
The books may now be closed again, and rest on their shelves.