In 2015, the Municipal Library of Prague received grant support from the European Economic Area (EEA), and from Norwegian funds for the PRALIT project: “Rescue and Accessibility of Prague Jewish Literature.” The main intent was to digitize selected documents focusing on Jewish themes (found in collections of the music department, the depository, and rare prints), and in so doing make them more widely available to the public.
The chief aim of Municipal Library of Prague is to acquire, process, and preserve cultural treasures, and to make these holdings available for public consumption. Special attention is placed on services for parents with children, youth and students, services to senior citizens, the socially disadvantaged and the handicapped.
In January 2015, a hardware and software recovery tender was announced, consisting of three parts:
1) Data storage with the new server
2) Batch imaging software and two book scanners
These scanners allow to scan colour to TIFF up to 600 dpi, so it can store high-quality archive copies according to the digitization standards of the National Digital Library. LIMB software from i2S company was utilized for batch image processing.
3) Powerful computer station monitor suitable for image processing, including side light covers, and OCR software with a processing license of 30,000 pages per month.
As part of the PRALIT project, the Municipal Library of Prague has committed to make publicly available 165,000 pages in the Kramerius digital library via scanning. The project presents a range of musical literature, in the form of music periodicals, fiction and poetry, mainly in Czech and German language (also texts in French, Russian and English). The Collections are from the second half of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century.
