Google and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage reach agreement to digitize works from Italian libraries

Rome, Italy — March 10, 2010 –  Google and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage today announced a partnership to scan up to a million out-of-copyright Italian books from the National Libraries at Rome and Florence, making them available to readers around the world.

For the first time, some of the unique collections from these libraries will become easily accessible in a digital format to anyone with an Internet connection. This is also the first collaboration between Google Books and a government’s ministry of culture, a partnership that Google hopes will result in the preservation and dissemination of important works of Italian culture.

A walk through the stacks of these libraries is a journey through some of the greatest book collections of Italian intellectuals, authors, scientists, and thinkers. Once the books have been digitized, readers from Genoa to Nairobi will be able to consult online the works of Machiavelli, Dante, Petrarca, Leopardi and Manzoni.

In addition, Google will provide the libraries with digital copies of these books, allowing them to distribute them to readers on other platforms, including other European projects such as Europeana.

The Italian libraries already have begun preparing to bring their collections online. Digital catalogues of some 285,000 book titles and publication information from the national libraries already have been created. Over the next two years, the libraries themselves will complete this cataloging. Google will cover the costs of scanning all these works and will set up a scanning centre in Italy.

Among other rare and important works, the National Library of Florence will make available:

  • rare scientific works from the 18th century and the Enlightenment;
  • literature of the 19th century, that created the cultural environment that brought to Italy’s unification as a country 150 years ago;
  • illustrated works and lithographs throughout the ages.

The National Library of Roma will digitize, among other works:

  • rare first edition works from the 19th century;
  • the writings of Giambattista Vico and Galileo Galilei;
  • and erbari and farmacopee medical books from the 19th century.

The Italian collections will enrich Google Books’ multi-lingual collection, and make Italian language works , available to people around the world. It will benefit Italian speakers the world over, and anyone interested in Italian culture.

Sandro Bondi, Minister for Cultural Heritage
“The agreement carries a strong political message. It is the first one with a government that allows a Web leader access a national library collections. Italy is positioning itself at the forefront of digitisation, believing that the Internet can enrich and spread cultural heritage. In order to achieve this goal, we have chosen to work with a technology leader. We hope that this agreement represents just a point of departure, and that soon many other books may be available on the Internet. This agreement will help Italian institutions spread Italian culture throughout the world and bring the new generation of Italians living abroad closer to their heritage.”

Nikesh Arora, Google President
“We are proud to be a part of this project to bring the rich collection of these Italian libraries to the world. This project will enrich and preserve an important part of the world’s cultural heritage by making a wealth of Italian literature more readily accessible to people around the globe. We believe it sets a precedent for other potential projects around Europe.”

Mario Resca, Executive Director for Management and Promotion of Cultural Heritage
“I would describe his agreement with Google as historic. It combines three objectives: first to digitize and disseminate the enormous Italian book treasures; second, to preserve this heritage from the weather and wear of time. We all remember the 1966 flood in Florence. If this would happen again, we might lose the paper copies of the books, but not their contents. Third, by spreading this heritage for free on the Internet, we promote awareness throughout the world of our culture and making it accessible to everyone. By working with Google, we will make our books the equivalent of a business card presenting Italian culture. This will encourage many to  deepen their understanding of Italian culture by visiting our country.”

Carlo D’Asaro Biondo, Vice President Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
“In my large region, Italy is one of Google’s most important countries. As an Italian myself, I feel proud that Google is making such a large commitment to my home country”.

Stefano Maruzzi, Google Country Director, Italy
This project demonstrates Google’s commitment to Italy and to projecting Italy’s rich cultural heritage throughout the world. It follows last year’s exciting launch of StreetView pictures of Pompei. In coming months and years, we hope to follow up with the Ministry of Culture to undertake many more ambitious initiatives.

ITALIANO:

Roma, 10 marzo 2010 – Google e il Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali hanno annunciato oggi una collaborazione che consentirà a chiunque nel mondo di accedere a fino a un milione di libri non coperti da copyright conservati nelle Biblioteche Nazionali di Roma e Firenze.
Per la prima volta, alcune delle inestimabili opere appartenenti a queste biblioteche saranno rese accessibili a chiunque in formato digitale attraverso Internet. Questa è inoltre la prima collaborazione in assoluto tra un Ministero della Cultura e Google per Google Books: una partnership che negli auspici di Google offrirà un importante contributo alla conservazione e alla divulgazione di importanti opere del patrimonio culturale italiano.
Negli scaffali di queste biblioteche sono conservate alcune delle raccolte di opere dei più grandi intellettuali, scrittori, scienziati e pensatori italiani. Una volta digitalizzate, le opere di Dante, Petrarca, Leopardi e Manzoni saranno a portata di clic per chiunque nel mondo, da Genova a Nairobi.
Google fornirà inoltre alle due biblioteche le copie digitali di ciascun libro parte del progetto, così che possano a loro volta renderli disponibili anche su piattaforme diverse da Google Books, quali, ad esempio, quella del progetto Europeana.
L’accordo tra MiBAC e Google prevede la digitalizzazione e messa in rete di circa un milione di volumi, 285 mila dei quali sono stati già metadatati e catalogati dal Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale (SBN). Nei prossimi due anni si completerà la catalogazione dei volumi scelti, che saranno digitalizzati da Google e successivamente messi online.. Il costo della digitalizzazione invece sarà a carico di Google, che si occuperà anche di allestire uno scanning center in Italia.

Tra le opere rare e rilevanti che la Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze includerà nel progetto vi sono:
• Rare opere scientifiche del XVIII Secolo e dell’Illuminismo;
• Opere letterarie del XIX Secolo che hanno creato il clima culturale che ha portato all’unità d’Italia;
• Opere illustrate e litografie di ogni epoca.

La Biblioteca Nazionale di Roma includerà nel progetto di digitalizzazione tra le altre:
• Rare prime edizioni di opere del XIX Secolo;
• Opere di Giambattista Vico, Keplero e Galileo Galilei;
• Erbari e Farmacopee del XIX Secolo.

Le opere delle biblioteche italiane andranno ad arricchire la raccolta di libri in molteplici lingue di Google Books, rendendo il patrimonio culturale nazionale di semplicissimo accesso da ogni parte del mondo. Ne beneficeranno tutti gli italiani e chiunque ami la nostra cultura.