COLLABORATION WITH INSTITUTIONS

Collaboration with various institutes and individuals in bringing a manuscript from the library’s shelf to a researcher’s computer screen is a central focus of the Center’s mission. CSNTM collaborates daily with individuals and institutions who both own manuscripts and view the images. While we want to create the best possible viewing experience on our website, we hold this goal in tension with our commitments to honor the contracts and wishes of each holding institution.

Each digitization project begins with a contract agreement between CSNTM and the owner of the manuscript(s) to be digitized. The CSNTM team works hard to honor those willing to partner with us. One aspect of our contract has always been that the library will retain all the rights to the images. We simply ask that we be allowed to display them on our website and keep a copy in our archives for preservation. In order to accomplish these things, CSNTM’s viewer has various safety protocols that inhibit researchers from downloading images. The images are freely available for viewing and protected according to each institution’s request.

Adding externally obtained images to the digital manuscript library allows for researchers to access more Greek New Testament manuscripts in a single location. Besides creating more efficiency for scholars who view Greek New Testament manuscripts, CSNTM also has the opportunity to bring the attention of students of the New Testament to the various institutions that hold the sacred artifacts. Whenever we add a new manuscript entry to the digital library, links are also provided to the institution that owns and, in the case of externally obtained images, digitized the Greek New Testament manuscript.

COLLABORATION WITH RESEARCHERS

The Center regularly collaborates with numerous scholars and institutes in various fields of study. Primarily, the focus of collaboration is on providing images for researchers: art historians, text critics, paleographers, papyrologists, codicologists, archivists, and other digitization experts on various projects. Beyond those who view manuscripts for technical review and discovery, many interested individuals have made use of the digital library for teaching and personal learning. CSNTM seeks to provide the best viewing experience possible for researchers who utilize images from the digital library.