Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Oh, that's so cool

From Ireland--

Virtual explorers: access to rare artefacts at National Library
The exhibition features a range of rare items from the library’s collection of documents, letters, maps and art, many of which were deemed too valuable, light or air sensitive to be placed in regular display cases.

To overcome the problem, the National Library teamed up with Microsoft which has developed an interactive touch sensitive screen allowing the public to magnify and examine artefacts dating from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

“A lot of the items are very delicate and fragile,” said Elizabeth Kirwan an assistant keeper at the National Library of Ireland. “Traditionally if you wanted to see them you had to make an appointment with a section curator, get a reader’s ticket, put on a pair of white gloves and go to the relevant section to look at the material.

“What we have been able to do now with the technology is enable detailed access to the items both in the library and online.”

Among the library's holdings is a map drawn by Gerald of Wales about 1200 CE. It's nice that if you can't travel there yourself, you can at least experience some things online. The web address for the library is http://www.nli.ie. If you're a history buff like I am, be sure to check it out. Thanks, Steven, for the link to the story.

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