Digitization, virtual reconstruction and addition of granular metadata for the scientific journal Miscellanea Curiosa Medico-Physica Academiae Naturae Curiosorum (1670-1791)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Wolfgang U. Eckart (†)
• Subject Area: History of Science
• Term: from 2017 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 354596673

The series Miscellanea Curiosa Medico-Physica Academiae Naturae Curiosorum has been continuously published by the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina since 1670. The series is being published today under the title Nova Acta Leopoldina and is considered the oldest still existing scientific medical journal in the world. Since its inception the journal served the overarching goal of the Academy, to collect all contemporary medical and scientific knowledge. The volumes of the journal form a unique source about the history of science of the late 17th century and onward, a time during which scholars laid important foundations for todays medical and natural sciences.A characteristic of the volumes published during the first 100 years is a large collection of scientific and in particular medical observation reports (Observationes). The entire corpus comprises about 16.000 observation reports, mostly in Latin, including about 8.000 reprinted variants and translations. In contrast to earlier collections of observation reports, which were not uncommon, the Miscellanea Curiosa form a body of works with encyclopedic scope, but published in a serial format (a serial encyclopedia). In the observation reports, contributors refer to earlier reports published in the serial and over time document the changing status quo of scientific medical knowledge.The project aims to digitally consolidate the Miscellanea Curiosa and following titles of the series until 1791. The project will improve access and citability for this important source for current research on the history of sciences and on the history of academies. During the course of the project we plan to close gaps in the availability of high-quality digital images. The main contribution however will be the addition of granular metadata, according to current technical and professional standards in library and information science. As a result, individual observations will be indexed in regional and national catalogue databases. The final product will be a convenient presentation platform containing all known volumes of the Miscellanea Curiosa that can be digitised, including available translations. The presentation platform will be pivotal for a number of different research projects on the history of science.

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)