[Le Studium Conferences] Novel approaches to Digital Codicology

Despite the advancements in digitization, the study of books as objects, for the most part, still relies on autoptic investigations because traditional digitization transmediates only limited information regarding an object’s materiality. Autoptic observations are not always possible, and this has become even more evident and relevant with the pandemic crisis of Covid-19. While significant progress has been made in accessing written heritage through digitization efforts (IIIF, TEI), the digitization of the material features of books is still lagging and at the experimental phase. The availability of great numbers of textual data has permitted the development of distant reading techniques to discover patterns in texts and the utilization of artificial intelligence to read manuscripts (HTR) and printed books (OCR) en mass. The availability of digital data on the materiality of books would extend these practices to the book as an object. Recently, some projects have brought forward novel approaches to the digitization of material features of books but we lack a comprehensive methodology capable of bringing it together in a coherent research field: digital codicology. In the first two and a half days of the event, eminent scholars at the forefront of material digitization efforts will present their research. The last half-day will be dedicated to a round table and a working group to discuss and set the groundwork for a white paper on what digital codicology is and still needs to become the overarching field we foresee.

CONVENORS

Dr Alberto Campagnolo, LE STUDIUM Research Fellow  FROM University of Udine - IT
IN RESIDENCE AT Centre for Advanced Studies in the Renaissance (CESR)  / CNRS, University of Tours - FR

Prof. Elena Pierazzo,  Centre for Advanced Studies in the Renaissance (CESR)  / CNRS, University of Tours - FR

SUPPORTS

This event is partly funded by the Équipex Biblissima+, Cluster 4 (Traitement approfondi des systèmes graphiques et analyse des documents).
Biblissima+ benefits from the French ministry ANR support (Agence Nationale pour la Recherche) under the "Investissement d'Avenir Programme", grant # ANR-21-ESRE-0005.

This project has received funding from the European Union's EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 under  theGrant Agreement No. 787282.  The European Research Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.