Introducing the Digital Scriptorium Catalog

Curious about the development and technology behind the DS Catalog?
Learn more about the DS 2.0 Project here.

The DS Catalog connects researchers to pre- and early modern manuscript books in DS member institutions. Built on Wikibase, the DS Catalog aggregates supplied DS member metadata and enriches it by linking to external authorities and resources for enhanced research in a Linked Open Data environment.

Be advised:

  • DS records may appear to display inconsistent metadata. This is due to different cataloging practices and standards used among member institutions. We view these issues as part of our process to both understand different approaches and to lead US institutions to more consistent description practices. During the beta phase, we will be evaluating the impact of these discrepancies to determine possible solutions.
  • More member institutions will be represented in the DS Catalog soon, dependent upon contribution of their data to DS in the coming weeks and months. If you don't find a member institution's data in your search, please continue to check back. The data may be in process or we may not have received it yet. To get more news about our progress, visit the Digital Scriptorium website or subscribe to the DS newsletter.

Did you find a bug? Want to suggest an improvement? Take the user survey to tell us about your experience and report issues.


Start Using the New DS Catalog

  • Enter a keyword or keywords in the search bar above
  • Browse and click on the facets on the left for drill down searching
  • Combine facet browsing and keyword search to refine results
  • Go to Advanced Search for more complex searching options
  • Save bookmarks and search history by creating an account here

Dig Deeper with Linked Data

The DS Catalog provides enhanced, standardized metadata using Linked Data Authorities such as Wikidata, the Getty Vocabularies, and FAST.  
 
Mariensüss, Bartholomäus, -1504
  • On the left: Click on DS Authority Values within each record to explore related manuscripts in the DS Catalog (learn more about DS Authorities here)
  • On the right: Explore people, places, and concepts outside the DS Catalog by clicking on the linked resources paired with DS Authority Values
  • Enter the DS Catalog Wikibase and connect to other LOD Knowledge Graphs in the DS Wikibase SPARQL Endpoint

The DS Catalog is the first member-supported national union catalog of medieval and early modern manuscripts in US collections built on Linked Open Data principles and practices. Do you represent a US institution with manuscript holdings and are you interested in joining DS? Find out more about joining DS.

 

Project management and technical development were provided by the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Additional support for the DS 2.0 Project was generously provided in 2021 by these DS Member institutions:

    The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
    Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
    Columbia University Libraries
    Houghton Library, Harvard University
    The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
    Princeton University Libraries
    Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside