Collaborative Initiative for French and North American Libraries

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Bibliothèque bleue

Coordinator: Sarah Sussman, Stanford University

Bibliothèque bleue project
ARTFL, the Médiathèque de l’agglomération troyenne, CIFNAL

CIFNAL and ARTFL (University of Chicago) are collaborating with the Médiathèque de l’agglomération troyenne (MAT) to add text-searching and analysis capabilities to its collection of the Bibliothèque bleue. Our contact at the MAT is Monsieur Thierry Delcourt, director. Mark Olsen and Robert Morrissey of ARTFL visited the Médiathèque in Troyes (MAT) and met with M. Delcourt in January 2006.

ARTFL has generously provided the initial funding for this project.

10 digitized texts were selected and loaded onto a CD-ROM for testing by ARTFL.

  • 6 texts have been tested, the other 4 were low resolution.
  • After receiving moderate results from testing with OCR, ARTFL has determined that texts must be entered manually.
  • ARTFL and the MAT will coordinate on TEI specifications.

Currently, all of the Bibliothèque bleue books with a Troyes imprint and held by the MAT have been digitized by the MAT.

  • 623 separate imprints have been digitized; some titles have been scanned several times, if different editions exist.
  • The MAT also plans to digitize the woodcuts.
  • The collections of Bibliothèque bleue at the BNF and the Musée des Arts et traditions populaires have not yet been digitized.

The goals of this project will be:

  • A publicly accessible and searchable version of the digitized Bibliothèque bleue de Troyes.
  • ARTFL will build a publicly accessible version of the Bibliothèque bleue de Troyes under PhiloLogic in Chicago. The TEI-encoded text will be also added to the ARTFL databases restricted to subscribers, allowing for comparative use and analysis.
  • ARTFL will send the MAT the TEI-encoded text of the Bibliothèque bleue and a copy of PhiloLogic, and will help to install it if they desire.

For more information about the Médiathèque de l’agglomération troyenne and their collections and projects, please refer to their website: http://www.mediatheque-agglo-troyes.fr

In the section “Bibliothèque virtuelle” (under “Les catalogues”), you will find 668 digitized "livrets de colportage” from the Bibliothèque bleue, as well as 748 title pages and woodcuts.

Last updated October 31, 2006

The Global Resources Network, under the direction of the Center for Research Libraries, in collaboration with the Association of Research Libraries and the Association of American Universities