This practical book is a detailed guide to various databases and computer services worldwide that provide access to medieval manuscripts. Covering everything from First Century Latin texts and ancient Greek manuscripts to medieval and Renaissance mathematical studies, Bibliographic Access to Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts provides thorough descriptions of electronic cataloging methods and the databanks either in progress or in existence that include these manuscripts. Five independent systems of cataloging these materials with computers and PCs are explained and evaluated in detail. This thorough volume features a discussion of the difficulties of using MARCs and AMCs to handle manuscript descriptions for which they were not designed and offers new ideas for meeting the needs of individual users and the needs of libraries networking through computer systems.

Authoritative contributors include international experts in the use of computers for humanistic research and prominent scholars in the history of science and mathematics, medieval history and literature, and cartography. The helpful chapters contain valuable information on computer systems created to function as information retrieval catalogs for book descriptions in readable formats.

Researchers will appreciate the practical advice for locating and using manuscripts and rare books in libraries. Archivists and rare collections librarians will find this a helpful and in-depth tool in finding information on successful cataloging and access to medieval sources.