The University of Iowa Digital Library now contains 100,000 items. To mark this milestonetemp, a 13th-century Bible manuscript page from the Special Collections Department of the UI Libraries has been scanned and uploaded to represent the transformation of information storage over the centuries, from handmade parchment to zeroes and ones.

“Digital versions of rare records and documents bring new attention to the physical artifacts that have made up human communication in the past,” said Matthew Brown, director of the UI Center for the Book. “The Iowa Digital Library is exactly the kind of teaching tool that alerts students to meanings of the medium, whether it be paper or stone, handwriting or typeface, engraving or photograph.”

“As scholarship increasingly moves online, it’s essential that we follow suit with our physical collections,” said Nicole Saylor, head of Digital Library Services. “By increasing accessibility to the UI’s rare and unique materials through digitization, the Libraries will continue to be relevant and vital participants in the University’s research and educational processes.”

See the full press release here.