Digitization helps to build online library of historical tomes

Digitized editions of over 1,700 volumes of ancient Chinese books were jointly released by 10 Chinese libraries.

This was the fourth expansion of a national database for ancient Chinese books since it went online in 2016, said a report by China Daily on April 30.

The new entries to the database included precious copies of ancient classics dating back to the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, as well as first-hand accounts with local characteristics, such as genealogies and local chronicles, the report said.

Nearly 40 libraries and institutions have joined in the program of digitalizing ancient books, which was launched by the National Center for Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books with an aim of increasing the public's free access to ancient documents.

So far, 74,000 volumes of ancient texts, including 33,000 volumes from the collection of the National Library of China, have been recorded in the database, according to the newspaper.