A curated, interactive directory of digitized medieval manuscript libraries worldwide with support for standardized image formats and open access resources.
Use DMMapp (Digitized Medieval Manuscripts Application) to discover and access digitized medieval manuscript collections from around the world. Instead of visiting dozens of institutional websites, you can search a single directory that gives you:
- 🔍 Advanced filtering and search capabilities
- 🌍 Global coverage with location-based discovery
- 📋 Real-time statistics and insights
- ♿ Full accessibility support
- 🚀 Lightning-fast performance with no external dependencies
- Real-time search: Filter libraries instantly by name or city
- Advanced filters:
- Filter by nation or country
- Filter by standardized image format support (lets you access images the same way across different libraries)
- Filter by open license (find freely reusable materials)
- Live statistics:
- Total libraries in the database
- Number of participating nations
- Collections with standardized image format support
- Responsive design: Works on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices
Each library entry includes:
- Library name and location: Official institution name, city, and country
- Website link: Direct access to the digitized collection
- Standardized image format support: Badge indicating compatibility (lets you view and compare manuscripts consistently across libraries)
- Open license: Badge for freely reusable collections
- Manuscript quantity: Approximate number of digitized manuscripts (Few, Dozens, Hundreds, Thousands)
- Getting started guide
- About the project and technology stack
- Contributing guidelines
- Information about standardized image formats
Visit the live dashboard to browse and search: 👉 Digitized Medieval Manuscripts App
No installation required. Everything runs in your browser.
Clone the repository and set up your local environment:
git clone https://github.com/SexyCodicology/Digitized-Medieval-Manuscripts-app.git
cd Digitized-Medieval-Manuscripts-appThe dashboard is a MkDocs Material page, so you preview it the same way as the rest of the documentation. Install the dependencies from requirements.txt, then start the MkDocs development server:
pip install -r requirements.txt
mkdocs serveOpen http://localhost:8000 in your browser to see the full dashboard.
Digitized-Medieval-Manuscripts-app/
├── mkdocs.yml # Documentation and dashboard build settings
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies for MkDocs
├── schema.json # Data format definition
├── overrides/
│ └── home.html # Dashboard template (extends Material's main.html)
│
├── docs/ # Documentation and dashboard source
│ ├── index.md # Dashboard home page (uses the home.html template)
│ ├── about.md # About the project
│ ├── getting-started.md # How to use the dashboard
│ ├── schema.md # Data structure guide
│ ├── update-data.md # How to add or edit library entries
│ ├── contributing.md # How to contribute code or docs
│ ├── setup.md # Local development setup
│ └── assets/
│ ├── dashboard.js # Dashboard interactivity
│ ├── dashboard.css # Dashboard styling
│ └── data.json # Library database
│
├── README.md # This file
├── CONTRIBUTING.md # Contribution guide
└── LICENSE # MIT License
- HTML5: Semantic markup
- CSS3: Custom Material Design styling
- Vanilla JavaScript: No frameworks, pure web standards
- Bootstrap Icons: Accessible icons
- Google Fonts (Roboto): Professional typography
- MkDocs: Static site generator
- Material for MkDocs: Responsive theme
- Data format: Simple, portable database (uses a text-based format for easy editing)
- Data validation: Automated checks to ensure data quality
- GitHub Actions: Automatic testing and deployment
- GitHub Pages: Free, reliable hosting
- GitHub Actions: Automatic updates when you make changes
Each library entry in docs/assets/data.json follows this structure:
{
"id": "Unique record identifier",
"library": "Official institution name",
"nation": "Country name",
"city": "City name",
"website": "URL to digitized collection",
"copyright": "Copyright or license information",
"quantity": "Few | Dozens | Hundreds | Thousands | Unknown",
"iiif": "Supports standardized image format",
"is_free_cultural_works_license": "Has open license",
"aggregators": "Aggregating projects the library is discoverable through, as a list of { name, url }"
}See schema.json for the complete definition.
You can help in several ways:
- Search first: Make sure the library isn't already listed in docs/assets/data.json
- Edit the file: Add your entry following the data format
- Submit a pull request: Send it to the
masterbranch
See detailed contributing guide →
Found an error or have a suggestion? Open an issue
- Enhance the dashboard
- Improve documentation
- Suggest features
- Fix bugs
Libraries that support standardized image formats (like IIIF) let you:
- Search across multiple collections simultaneously
- View and compare manuscripts side-by-side
- Zoom, rotate, and annotate images
- Reuse collections freely in your own projects
- Simplicity: Clean, maintainable code and design
- Performance: Fast loading with minimal dependencies
- Accessibility: Works for all users, including those using assistive technology
- Consistency: Unified design across all components
- Open source: Transparent development, community-driven
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
You're free to use, modify, and distribute this project with proper attribution.
- Documentation: See the docs/ folder
- Issues and discussions: GitHub Issues
- Contributing: See CONTRIBUTING.md
- Code of Conduct: See CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
- Standardized image format information
- MkDocs documentation
- Data schema resources
- Material Design
- GitHub Pages
- Total libraries: Check the dashboard for current count
- Countries represented: Explore the directory to discover
- Collections with standardized image format support: Use the filter to see available options
- Last updated: Check the GitHub commit history
Future enhancements you might see:
- Geographic map view of libraries
- Advanced search with manuscript details
- Collections comparison tool
- User submissions and voting
- API for other applications
- Multi-language support
Created with ❤️ in the Netherlands
Want recognition? Contribute today!
Made with ❤️ for researchers, historians, and manuscript enthusiasts everywhere.