Good progress made on ‘digital census’

Italian and Israeli archivists are reporting good progress in creating a “digital census” of thousands of texts spanning five centuries and showcasing Italian-Jewish history from the invention of the printing press to the middle of the 20th century.

The I-TAL-YA Books initiative is a collaboration between the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), the National Library of Israel
(pictured), the National Central Library of Rome and the UK-based Rothschild Foundation.

It aims to create a bilingual Italian-Hebrew database of about 35,000 volumes, covering Italian-Jewish history over 500 years, detailing the workings of 14 Italian Jewish communities and 25 state institutions.

 The texts are held in the collections of local Jewish communities, state-owned libraries, the Vatican and Italian church institutions, and 2,000 volumes have already been uploaded onto the ‘Teca’ portal of the National Central Library of Rome. 

The completed census will offer a window on the history of Italian Jewry.