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Spectacular hidden treasures online for the first time

24 January 2008

  • ‘Turn the pages' of historic documents on the British Library website from 23 January 2008
  • Launch events to be held at the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament

Five hidden treasures from public library collections across the UK are now accessible to an online audience of millions. Selected as the winning texts in a nationwide competition, pages of each have been digitised and transformed into Turning the Pages 2.0™ ‘virtual texts'. Visitors to the British Library's website can enjoy these magnificent items for free.

The winning treasures include:

  • a 12th century legal work from Medway, Kent, which contains the earliest record of the English language;
  • a fascinating first-hand account of life in mid 19th century rural Caernarfonshire, as experienced by an unusually observant 14-year-old;
  • a stunning 15th century illuminated missal from Renfrewshire, which features a blood-curdling rite of excommunication;
  • a beautifully illustrated war record book produced by the Dorset Federation of Women's Institutes, containing stories of evacuees, enemy airmen, the coming of the American army and even jam making!

The British Library's Hidden Treasures Brought to Life competition – launched in spring 2007 in collaboration with the Society of Chief Librarians, Scottish library chiefs and Microsoft – inspired 82 entries, which dazzled the judges with their uniqueness and variety. The range of the winning items gives an idea of just how many treasures of regional, national and international importance are held in public library collections across the UK.

To mark the launch of the winning ‘virtual texts', the British Library is holding celebratory receptions in partnership with The National Library of Wales at the National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff, the Belfast Education and Library Board at the Northern Ireland Assembly, Stormont, and the National Library of Scotland at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh. These events – taking place in January and February 2008 – will highlight the importance of providing digital access to the unique material held in public libraries as a critical part of supporting cultural heritage, history and diversity.

For the past decade the British Library has created Turning the Pages versions of its greatest treasures, from Mozart's musical diary to Lewis Carroll's manuscript of Alice's Adventures, bringing viewers closer than ever before to precious books and manuscripts. Turning the Pages 2.0™ now brings five more priceless treasures to life to be enjoyed by a worldwide audience.

For further information and images please contact: Chloe Tait at the British Library Press Office (telephone +44 (0)20 7412 7113, email: chloe.tait@bl.uk)

Notes for Editors

  1. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The British Library's collections include 150 million items from every era of written human history beginning with Chinese oracle bones dating from 300 BC, right up to the latest e-journals. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk.
  1. The National Library of Wales is the largest library in Wales and one of the world's great research libraries. Established in 1907, its collections include books, manuscripts, archival documents, maps and photographs, as well as paintings, photographs, films, videos and sound recordings. It has developed its digitisation service over a period of ten years and more, and over 200,000 items from the collections are now to be seen on the Digital Mirror on www.llgc.org.uk. The Library is recognized as the leading research centre for Welsh and Celtic studies, and is popular with researchers of local and family history. It maintains an education programme and a varied programme of exhibitions throughout the year, and lectures, film screenings and conferences are arranged in the Drwm, the auditorium at the Library.
  1. The Belfast Education and Library Board was established in 1973 under the provision of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order as the body responsible for providing education, youth and library services within the Belfast area. Its library service is delivered through Belfast Central Library and 19 community libraries along with 2 mobile libraries.
  1. The National Library of Scotland is a major European research library and is the world's leading centre for the study of Scotland and the Scots – an information treasure trove for Scotland's knowledge, history and culture.
  • The Library's collections are of world-class importance. Key areas include rare books, manuscripts, maps, music, official publications, business information, science and technology, and the modern and foreign collections.
  • The Library holds well over 13 million items, including printed items, approximately 100,000 manuscripts and nearly 2 million maps.
  • NLS holds many of Scotland's literary treasures including the last letter of Mary Queen of Scots, written six hours before her execution; the Order for the Massacre of Glencoe 1692; the world's greatest collections of Sir Walter Scott and Thomas Carlyle manuscripts; works of Robert Burns; Robert Louis Stevenson papers; a Gutenberg bible (1455); the Murthly Hours (late 13th C); and modern collections of Scottish writers.
  • See www.nls.uk for further information about the Library and its collections.
  1. The Hidden Treasures competition winners are available to view in Turning the Pages 2.0™ format at http://www.bl.uk/ttp2/hiddentreasures.html. Turning the Pages 2.0™, which has been developed with Microsoft to demonstrate their new Windows Vista operating system, enables an even richer user experience and speeds up the process of creating a ‘virtual text'. The winning treasures can also be viewed using Silverlight, an alternative cross platform edition for non-Vista and Apple users.
  1. The winning entries:
  • Dorset Federation of Women's Institutes War Record Book 1939-1945 (Dorset Library Service in partnership with Dorset History Centre and Dorset School Library Service) (England) – a unique volume which provides a compelling snapshot of life on the Home Front. Contact Sharon Kirkpatrick, Senior Manager: Reading and Learning, +44 (0)1305 228529;

  • The Textus Roffensis (The Dean and Chapter of Rochester Cathedral, the Director of Community Services, Medway Council and Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre) (England) – an iconic work, compiled 1123-24, containing the first recorded English laws and the coronation oath of Henry I, which influenced the barons who drafted Magna Carta. Contact April Lambourne, Archives and Local Studies Officer, +44 (0)1634 332714;
  • The Arbuthnott Missal (Renfrewshire Council) (Scotland) – a spectacular illuminated missal, containing a blood-curdling rite of excommunication, which was one of the few Scottish items of its kind to survive the Reformation. Contact Jenifer A. McFarlane, Acting Libraries Manager, +44 (0)141 840 3001;
  • Sir George Leonard Staunton's account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China, 1797 (Belfast Central Library) (Northern Ireland) – volumes containing finely detailed mezzotint plates, which describe and illustrate the visit of the first British envoy to China. Contact Linda Greenwood, Principal Librarian, +44 (0)28 90509104;
  • The Diaries of William Searell of Beddgelert, Caernarfonshire, 1844-46 (Conwy Archive Service, Conwy County Borough Council) (Wales) – begun when the author was 14 and providing vivid and unique insights into mid-nineteenth century Welsh rural life. Contact Susan Ellis, Senior Archivist, +44 (0)1492 860882.