VHMML

Available

• http://vhmml.wordpress.com/

Description

vHMML (“virtual” HMML) is an online environment for manuscript studies. An Internet-based extension of the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, vHMML will help open that archive to undergraduates, graduate students, scholars, library professionals, and anyone interested in manuscript studies. vHMML’s coverage of manuscript cultures will be inclusive of both western and non-western manuscripts, reflecting more accurately the complex historical realities that shaped the modern world and that are becoming more normative in current scholarship with its emphasis on comparative studies. The project will be developed through 2014.

vHMML will consist of six closely-linked, interoperable, and mutually reinforcing online components:

1. School: instructional material in various formats for teaching the palaeography and codicology for languages/cultures represented in HMML’s collections (Latin, Syriac, Ge‘ez, Christian Arabic, Armenian);

2. Scriptorium: a sophisticated collaborative workspace able to support a variety of manuscript-related projects using manuscript images from HMML’s collection and imported from other sources, and providing tools for studying their form and content;

3. Lexicon: a crowd-sourced glossary for manuscript studies inclusive of western and non-western manuscripts;

4. Folio Collection: thickly-described sample manuscript folios from HMML’s collections, supplemented by images supplied by other institutions or individuals, which will illustrate the chronological and regional development of writing styles;

5. Library: other HMML digital resources supportive of manuscript study such as classic works on palaeography, manuscript catalogs, and videos;

6. Blog: a central point for communication and feedback gathering about vHMML.