18th Century Parliament papers go digital » Central Government » 24dash.com

A raft of 18th-century parliamentary papers will be made widely available for the first time today.

Under the 18th Century Parliamentary Papers Project, launched today, the rare and delicate papers have been digitised using the latest technology, turning what was previously inaccessible or poorly-indexed materials into a unique resource which can be viewed freely.

The texts, including parliamentary papers, bills and journals from throughout the era, give details of everything from the early days of the British Raj, to cultural and scientific developments, such as the invention of John Harrison's longitude clocks and the intense debates in Parliament over the abolition of the slave trade.

More than 14,000 documents and over one million pages are digitally available in the collection.

The project, led by the University of Southampton and founded by the Joint Information Systems Committee, is the latest stage in a wider scheme to digitise British official publications between 1688 and 1995.

The new resource has been created using a one-tonne robotic scanner, capable of working its way through over 500 pages of historical materials in an hour.

Pages were turned with vacuum technology and their edges pinpointed by lasers.

Project leader, Julian Ball from the University of Southampton, said: "The project brings together a rare and comprehensive set of 1,400 volumes of British official parliamentary publications from 1688 to 1834.

"Volumes have been accessed from the University of Southampton and the partners' libraries at the University of Cambridge and the British Library. Texts include the Journals of the House of Commons and Lords, Private Bills and Acts, Parliamentary Register and the House of Commons and Lords Sessional Papers.

"Building this digital resource has been an exciting journey for all of those involved. I would like to thank all the partners for their support and energy in helping us to create what is a unique resource for the study of Parliament in the 18th Century."

Copyright Press Association 2007

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