NEW WEB SITE OF THE VATICAN APOSTOLIC LIBRARY PRESENTED

VATICAN CITY, OCT 29, 2002 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, the new web site of the Vatican Apostolic Library was presented. The site is the result of collaboration between the Holy See and Hewlitt-Packard.

Participants in the press conference included Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia, librarian of Holy Roman Church, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, Frs. Raffaele Farina and Ambrogio Piazzoni, prefect and vice-prefect of the Library, and Nicola Aliperti, administrator delegate from Hewlitt-Packard Italy.

Cardinal Mejia explained that on the Vatican web site (www.vatican.va) there will now be a special new site for the Apostolic Library, fully accessible to the public, where the following five sections can be found: 1. History and Structure 2. Catalogue 3. Services 4. Treasures of the Library 5. Other information.

With these new sections, the cardinal explained, "We wanted to provide access to practical information (hours, services, offices, background, criteria for admission, etc.) and to reproductions and photocopies. In addition, it seemed necessary to briefly describe our history and to exhibit some of our bibliographic and artistic treasures."

Fr. Raffaele Farina made reference to the new features of the library's present computer system. He explained that since the year 2000, projects have been under way to digitize and catalogue descriptions of the graphic material (prints, illustrations and drawings) of the Print Library and the numismatic material (coins and medals) of the Numismatic Library.

In addition, the data base, he added, offers a public catalogue which contains descriptions of books and magazines, prints, illustrations, drawings, copper engravings, photographs, coins and medals and even musical scores, recordings and CDs, for a total of 700,000 bibliographic entries. Presently the manuscripts are being digitally catalogued. Descriptions of these manuscripts will be available shortly on the web with respective illustrative materials.

The prefect of the Library concluded by indicating that "the Library's internal network offers experts the opportunity to make bibliographic consultations in all the principal European languages. It also allows them to access the sources of Latin Patrology, classical Greek and Latin texts and some periodicals, as well as the entire collection of the 'Osservatore Romano.' These services can be consulted shortly by users of the network which connects the Roman Curia's dicasteries."

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