Simurg, CSIC Digital Collections, summary of activities between 2008 and 2016

Abstract

The CSIC Library and Archive Network carries out a policy of digitisation of bibliographical and archival collections with internationally accepted technical criteria so that they can be consulted by potential users anywhere in the world and that the originals are preserved in the best possible conditions, reducing their handling. Since 2008, these actions have been framed within the different strategic plans of the Organisation and of the Network itself, giving rise to Simurg, the CSIC's Digitised Collections, which to date has managed 70 projects involving more than 1,200,000 images of a wide variety of documents (manuscripts, old prints, photographs, sheet music, maps, etc.). The digitisation projects have been carried out by contracting specialised companies and also through agreements or by means of scanners from the Institution itself. In some cases, prior to digitisation, the documents have been restored to ensure the conservation of the heritage collections held by the CSIC.