Digitization
In Summer 2023, Laurier Archives and Special Collections was approached about the possibility of digitizing the hymnal for inclusion in Cantus: A Database for Latin Ecclesiastical Chant. The Cantus Database is a searchable, online inventory of Latin chants which can be found in medieval manuscripts and early printed books including antiphoners, breviaries, graduals, and other sources of liturgical music.
Overhead scanner in use at Laurier Archives and Special Collections.
Katrina Van Der Ahe, a graduate student in the Department of History at Laurier, scanned the Noted Hymnal from July to September 2023. Each folio was scanned using a Bookeye 4 V2 Basic scanner in the Julia Hendry Archives Reading Room to create a high quality, true colour image which was saved as a 300 DPI TIFF file. Once the manuscript had been scanned, each image was reviewed for clarity and consistency. Some folios were rescanned to maintain a uniformly high standard. The files were renamed and organized in preparation for upload in the future. In total, the process took approximately 75 to 80 hours.
Examples of scanned pages from the Noted Hymnal.
Although these images are not currently available online, they will be uploaded and made available through the Cantus Database in the future. To view the Noted Hymnal or the images, please contact Laurier Archives and Special Collections.
Digitization of the Noted Hymnal was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Grant Number: 895-2023-1002.
