Introduction to Kyoto University Rare Material Digital Archive

Abstract

Kyoto University Library officially launched the Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Archive (https://rmda.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en) on December 1st, 2017. The digital archive has been developed under Kyoto University's Open Access Promotion Project, which aims to contribute not only to open access for scholarly articles but also to open access for rare materials including national treasure, important cultural properties and other historically important manuscripts, maps, and drawings. As of February 27th 2018, the digital archive stores 566, 598 images of 5, 980 titles. To enhance their discoverability, we are also working for adding English metadata. As for the implementation of the digital archive, the system is composed of IIP image server and Drupal for the management of the contents. IIIF manifests are automatically generated by a Drupal module. We are daily increasing the contents of the digital archive: transferring the data from the previous database and adding newly digitized images, such as a large collection of Japanese and Chinese classics on medicine and architectural drawings of Nijo Castle built in Kyoto in the 17th Century. We hope these valuable resources will contribute to the promotion of studies especially in humanities and social sciences.