Munich DigitiZation Center : Digitzing precious manuscripts with valuable illuminations

The Munich DigitiZation Center (MDZ) is the central innovation and also production unit of the Bavarian State Library in Munich / Germany for developing, testing and implementing new products and processes related to the multifaceted, far-ranging subject of the ‚digital library‘.

The following video (also with transcript in english) offers a glimpse how do you digitize precious manuscripts with valuable illuminations and explains:

In our video series, we take you behind the scenes at the digitization center of the Bavarian State Library. In this episode, we show how delicate manuscripts are digitized at high resolution while being handled with the utmost care. Find out which conservation guidelines must be followed and what tools are used to ensure that every page can be digitized safely. You can explore the finished digital copies free of charge from anywhere in the world in our Digital Collections. (c) 2026 MDZ

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Currently 3,212,339 Digitized Manuscripts, Prints, Music, Maps, Photographs, Newspapers and Magazines are available and there are more every day. All of them can be downloaded – search here the Digital Collections and enjoy it!

See also:

High-performance scanners — How do these precious manuscripts make it onto the screen?

DZ / Digital Camera — How Do You Digitize Oversized Maps?

Munich Digitization Center (MDZ) — Bringing Originals into the Digital World