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The year 1749 is considered the beginning of the Nesvizh Radziwill Ordination Library. It was in this year that, by order of Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł 'Rybeńko' (1702-1762), the Grand Hetman of Lithuania and Voivode of Vilnius, a new building was erected in Nesvizh specifically for the castle's library. The Grand Ducal Library established there accumulated three collections of books: the old Nesvizh collection, the Biały Palace collection, and the collection of Jacob Heinrich von Flemming (1667-1728), the former Prime Minister of Augustus II and brother-in-law of Radziwiłł 'Rybeńko'. In 1772, the Radziwiłł Ordination Library - the largest private book collection in the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time - was taken away from Nesvizh by the Russian army as a war trophy. This article discusses the legacy of the First Nesvizh Radziwiłł Ordination Library that has survived in the libraries of Lithuanian memory institutions and private collections. It examines the provenance marks of the books, compiles a bibliographic list of books (manuscripts), and supplements it with new findings. Based on the results of historical and provenance research, some erroneous statements that have persisted in Lithuanian historiography have been corrected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the collections of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest, there are a number of old Romanian books printed in different centres: Alba Iulia, Blaj, Sibiu, Cluj, Buda, Vienna, Frankfurt, Leipzig and Hamburg. Among these, four volumes published in the seventeenth century have been identified, all printed in Bălgrad (Alba Iulia). We have in mind titles such as the Noul Testament (1648), Psaltirea (1651) and the Molitvenic (Molităvnic) (Euchologion) (1689), printed in the workshop sponsored by the princes of Transylvania (typis principis) and the workshop sponsored by the Orthodox Metropolitanate. The consulted works are also notable for the presence of handwritten notes written by former owners, which provide historical, economic and cultural information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the study was the large library of historical horticultural literature located at the Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening. Besides the library of Earl Arnošt Emanuel Silva Tarouca, the study also included related stocks, i.e. books and periodicals purchased by the Czechoslovak Dendrological Society and the State Agricultural Experimental Objects until 1936, the year of A. E. Silva Tarouca's death and the transformation of the research institution. Of all the topics represented, most books focused on the landscape architectonic creation of gardens. Key publications of the period can be found in the field of floriculture, dendrology, and botany. Other horticultural subjects are also represented to a minor degree. The library is therefore a comprehensive aggregate of books and periodicals dealing with the creation of gardens and parks from late 1800s until 1930s.

The collections of the Main Library of the Medical University of Gdańsk both chronologically and in terms of content go beyond the University’s existence and exceed the area of medical topics. The three main components of the historical collections are the prints that came from Vilnius, the acquired post-German collections and the gifts that went to the Library as part of international aid. Apart from typical library documents, the evidence of modernising medical education, such as films on the treatment of selected diseases, is also noteworthy. The paper will present the most interesting items from MUG’s Library collections in the context of the history of books and libraries.

The library is a chest full of unsuspected treasures, and a search in the book deposits of the Library of the Metropolitan Library of Moldavia and Bucovina "Dumitru Stăniloae" in Iași led to the discovery of 20 volumes of old books, which passed through several libraries, including the Michaelian Academy Library, an institution of real interest for the history of Romanian education in the 19th century. The present work attempts to present these valuable specimens from the point of view of the information they contain, the age of the bindings, vignettes and richly ornamented drawings, from the perspective of the beauty of the watermarks, but above all to establish the route through the libraries of past times. The history of the Michaelian Academy Library is of importance for us, the authors, librarians at the Central University Library "Mihai Eminescu" in Iași, an institution considered the successor of the library founded in 1835. The marking and description of the passage of these volumes through several libraries, as evidenced by the stamps of possession, is also important for establishing a route that takes us along the historical evolution of the Iași Metropolitan Library. The present research shows that these books are carriers of history and carry with them the memory of past years, the pages of these volumes bearing the ex-libris of the Michaelian Academy Library of 1835 containing, in addition to valuable information, also notes of personalities who made remarkable contributions at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Bibliographica Posoniensia is the property of University Library in Bratislava and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The subject of the study was the large library of historical horticultural literature located at the Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening. Besides the library of Earl Arnošt Emanuel Silva Tarouca, the study also included related stocks, i.e. books and periodicals purchased by the Czechoslovak Dendrological Society and the State Agricultural Experimental Objects until 1936, the year of A. E. Silva Tarouca's death and the transformation of the research institution. Of all the topics represented, most books focused on the landscape architectonic creation of gardens. Key publications of the period can be found in the field of floriculture, dendrology, and botany. Other horticultural subjects are also represented to a minor degree. The library is therefore a comprehensive aggregate of books and periodicals dealing with the creation of gardens and parks from late 1800s until 1930s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Books without an author may give rise to several problems in bibliography. I describe three such cases, where Hungarian scholarship supposed Hungarian authors. These authors are Ferenc Weiss, Elek Horányi and Kristóf Akai. In the cases of Weiss and Akai we can clearly tell the real authors, while we can only say that the theses attributed to Horányi were quite likely not written by him, but probably by an Italian piarist professor [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is about the marginal notes on manuscripts and old books dating from the 15th to 19th century copied under the royal patronage or ordered by a prince or by the members of the royal family of the Romanian lands. There are manuscripts with various subjects that shows the involvement of principles in the evolution of old book and old literature. These marginal notes give a perspective on the ceremony of reading. The passion of reading of this type of literature is also found at Constantin Brâncoveanu, Ştefan Voievod, Bogdan Voievod, Ioan Ieremia Movilă, Matei Basarab, Constantin Mavrocordat and other Romanian princes. They often consulted astrologer´s predictions, read the calendars for the political character, gave the books for writing and sometimes they were teaching their children through them.

The following contribution presents the rather unknown publication "Per te, soldato d'Albania" from 1941. This book, intended as a manual for the Albanian soldiers who were incorporated into the Italian armed forces after the occupation of Albania by Fascist Italy, is a work of pure Fascist propaganda. The content and argumentation are aimed at portraying and justifying the occupation of 1939 as a teleological historical event. This, as well as the language, make this propaganda work a unique document of that dark period of Albania's history which should not be forgotten. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determined the genera of anamorphic fungi that contaminate the books in the quarantine and cleaning area, within the Historical Area of the Central University of Ecuador (CUE). We performed a random swab on a representative sample of 50 of these books according to a standard militarized Table. We also swabbed as a preferential sample 21 books seriously contaminated with fungi. The swabs had a surface area of 5x5 cm, rubbing on the paste, the edge and the interior of these books. The 213 samples taken were inoculated in Agar Malta culture medium. The media were incubated at a temperature of 28 ° C for 7 days. We made observations by microscopy at 40 and 100x in addition to using specialized literature for the identification down to the genus level of anamorphic fungi. The most abundant genus in this study were Penicillium (80,2%) and Mucor (8,1%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transliteration1 of the Romanian books printed with Cyrillic characters, a procedure assumed through the research project MCVRO, offers to the readers that are passionate about the old writings, the possibility to discover texts that have an impressive cultural value. The volume Christian Teachings (Învăţături hristianiceşti), published by Antim Ivireanu in 1700, comprises a series of Christian reflections on several problems which are extremely actual. Our attention will be focused on the theme of alterity theorized and applied to the daily realities from that time. The study wishes to emphasize the extent to which the behavioural paradigms proposed by the author may be applied nowadays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old books suffer from aging and deterioration spurred by acidification, oxidation, and other factors. To preserve these important historical documents, it is important to implement deacidification and reinforcement methods to extend their durability. In this study, microdroplets of 75 g/L sodium hydroxide solution were atomized before being utilized to neutralize acidity in the paper. As well, styrene acrylic latex was diluted to 10 times for atomization to function as a reinforcing agent. In addition to studying these methods individually, the effects of simultaneous deacidification and reinforcement were also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old books suffer from aging and deterioration spurred by acidification, oxidation, and other factors. To preserve the important historical documents, a de-acidification and reinforcement method was studied using ultrasonic atomization via deacidification by Na2CO3 solution and styrene acrylic latex composite as reinforcing agent. These agents were atomized into micron-sized droplets and were absorbed by paper. In this study, the physical properties, internal structure, and surface morphology of the paper before and after aging were comprehensively studied for explaining the treatment mechanism. The paper pH, strength properties, brightness, color difference, and apparent morphology typically have been determined in detail as the important factors for evaluating the treatment effect of the preservation method for old paper. The analysis results showed that the pH of the paper after deacidification was successfully increased. Thus, even after aging, the pH of the deacidified paper was still higher than 7. The change of color difference of paper after treatment was not noticeable, meeting the requirement for the basic principle of an old book. Furthermore, the deacidification treatment had no clear influence on the breaking length and tear index of the paper. This study revealed a new perspective on the conservation of old books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There was a custom in the 17th and 18th centuries for the readers of the old books to put down on the pages they were reading some notes about themselves or about the social, political and natural context they were living in. This article tries to demonstrate that these notes, aside from the cultural information they carry, represent a stage in the formation of the concept of “author”, as we understand it in our modern culture.

In view of the problems related to book printing in our country, beginning from its independence, bypassing the long historiographic excursions, we will look at the Ukrainian book printing on the western lands of the late XVI – the middle of the XVII century, in the period when it began to stand out in a separate direction of writing, becaming an act of restoring historical memory, primarily on the basis of ancient Old Rus chronicles and Polish chronicles as an additional source of information. It became the main intellectual stimulator in revival of historical consciousness of Ukrainians, who, mastering the models and methods of Latin scholarship, selected from heritage of the past, first of all, the evidence of the historical rights of Rus community. The writing has always substantially expanded the possibilities for dissemination and preservation of spiritual culture, and introduction of printing enabled to involve significantly wider segments of the population into Ukraine's cultural and political life, encouraging the unity of culture development of various regions of Ukraine. The spread of printing became an integral part of the national-cultural and spiritual revival of the Ukrainian people in the XVI–XVII centuries. In this context, the study of book-writing and book-printing helps us to trace the integration processes in the Ukrainian culture, aimed at encouraging to spread and to ensure continuity. In the article, on the basis of complex analysis of the published and newly discovered archival materials and early-printed books, an attempt was made to reveal the role and significance of certain printing centers on the western Ukrainian lands in development of Ukrainian culture in the second half of XVI–XVII centuries. The historical conditions and tendencies of development of Ukrainian book printing of the studied period are revealed. The peculiarities of printing on the western Ukrainian lands, especially the use of Ukrainian early-printed books in liturgical practice and scientific and educational activities, including church servants and population of other confessions, are revealed. The importance of printing for development of the Ukrainian culture in the second half of XVI–XVIII centuries is characterized.

Libraries are invaluable resources, documenting significant events that have shaped human history. However, the preservation of old books is severely threatened by insects commonly referred to as bookworms. In this study, a sample of infested books in a historic library in Taiwan was randomly selected and examined. An anobiid book-boring beetle, Falsogastrallus sauteri Pic, 1914 (Coleoptera: Ptinidae) was identified as the major bookworm species present. To facilitate its identification, both adults and larvae of F. sauteri are redescribed, with emphasis on its ultramorphological characteristics as revealed by scanning electronic microscopy. Furthermore, an undescribed parasitoid wasp in the Bethylidae was discovered in the frass, holes and tunnels created by F. sauteri. The new species, Cephalonomia formosiensis sp. nov. is described, and we suggest that it probably uses F. sauteri as host.

The book collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova includes a number of dictionaries and encyclopedias of a certain historical and cultural value, which were published in reputable printing houses of Western Europe. They have become a social phenomenon in the 18th and 19th centuries, appearing in dozens of editions and contributing significantly to the popularization of science and knowledge of languages among the population. These books are valuable also in terms of their design: leather bindings decorated with relief ornaments and inscriptions, gold stamping on the spines and gilded page edges, color lithographs and engravings, and other classic decorative elements. The article attempts to review the museum collection of such encyclopedias and dictionaries from the perspective of the history of book publishing in Western Europe in the 18th and 19th century.

Most of the books read in the Romanian Countries, contained, alongside with the text itself, hundreds of notes written on the white pages intended for bookbinding at the beginning or at the end, along the sides of the page or, most often, at the end of the text. The volumes of documents edited by the historians from Iaşi cover a very long period of time, from March 13, 1429 until the little union of 1859; they provide a rich, heterogeneous and extremely interesting material which acquires a freestanding value and constitutes a distinct literature revealing a fresco of a bygone era.

In addressing the issue of the circulation of West-European books in Bessarabia we analyzed especially archival sources, mainly the Fund 2 - The Office of the Governor of Bessarabia, of the National Archive of Republic of Moldova, which contains relevant information on ways of distribution of West-European literature and governmental measures adopted in order to prevent the public access to the works which violated the Russian law of censorship. The cases we review in the article prove the fact that French, German or English literature was insufficiently distributed in the Russian Empire, and that's why Romanian Principalities, or Hapsburg Empire were an attractive source of purchasing it. From the analysis of the titles filled in the customs-blanks that were sent to Censorship Committee for Foreign Books in Sankt Petersburg, we noticed that the most West-European books reaching Bessarabia were literary and encyclopedic writings that were brought for the purpose of recreational reading and/ or the completing of personal libraries. But there were also cases when West-European books were brought for scientific and professional purposes. In conclusion, we can say that West-European books circulated in Bessarabia due to predilection of local society for the French and German literature. Of course in addition to these arguments, it is to be reminded that southern Bessarabia was colonized by Germans, Swiss, Polish, Bulgarians, etc., something which definitely generated greater demand for this kind of literature. Being a border province Bessarabia had multiple ways of penetrations of western writings, either by terrestrial ways, from the Habsburg Empire or Romanian Principalities, or by sea - from the rest of Europe. Also very close to Bessarabia there was situated the city port of Odessa, a cosmopolitan center of the Russian Empire's international trade on the Black Sea. However, we shall mention that the Russian government control, meant to prevent the intrusion of „harmful ideas", limited to a large extent the circulation of West-European books in Bessarabia.

Nowadays, microwaves are used in more and more applications such as medicine, treatment of materials, thawing, defrosting, transmission of information and many more. New usages for microwaves consist of decontamination and sterilisation of seeds and sensible materials, such as very old books, fabrics, paintings, statues etc. In order to achieve best results without damaging the treated materials and objects, microwaves are to be used very carefully, and the treatment must observe certain parameters, such as heating time, final temperature, rate of heating, uniformity, pulse and pause ratio etc. This paper describes some of the research that has been carried out during the preparation of Mr.Ursu’s doctoral thesis, concerning these special applications of microwave treatments.

Urban views provide evidence about events that took place in cities: battles, sieges, revolutions, peace treaties, coronations, executions, weddings or funerals, and so on. One of the most important consequences of the invention of printing was that it made possible the multiplication of representations of such events, to be sold to contemporaries, and thus the event became widely known; can be said that those images were the equivalent of today's newspapers. The popularity of the city views led to the production of both cheap or sophisticated and elaborate publications, illustrated with high-quality prints. Printed images of towns occur in the last decades of the 15th century with the first illustrated books. During the centuries, major towns were subject of a larger number of representations drawn, painted, engraved, but mostly printed. Representations of the current Romania towns have been made on a large variety of supports, but most of them were printed images, published originally but which circulated as well as prints. They are to be found as illustrations inside books printed in several European printing houses. This paper brings together the titles of books printed in western Europe containing historical images of nowadays Romanian Towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The library is a chest full of unsuspected treasures, and a search in the book deposits of the Library of the Metropolitan Library of Moldavia and Bucovina "Dumitru Stăniloae" in Iași led to the discovery of 20 volumes of old books, which passed through several libraries, including the Michaelian Academy Library, an institution of real interest for the history of Romanian education in the 19th century. The present work attempts to present these valuable specimens from the point of view of the information they contain, the age of the bindings, vignettes and richly ornamented drawings, from the perspective of the beauty of the watermarks, but above all to establish the route through the libraries of past times. The history of the Michaelian Academy Library is of importance for us, the authors, librarians at the Central University Library "Mihai Eminescu" in Iași, an institution considered the successor of the library founded in 1835. The marking and description of the passage of these volumes through several libraries, as evidenced by the stamps of possession, is also important for establishing a route that takes us along the historical evolution of the Iași Metropolitan Library. The present research shows that these books are carriers of history and carry with them the memory of past years, the pages of these volumes bearing the ex-libris of the Michaelian Academy Library of 1835 containing, in addition to valuable information, also notes of personalities who made remarkable contributions at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Letters are one of the main sources of information for researchers on old books, especially from the 18th century, when correspondence was the main vehicle of communication in the Europe of the Enlightenment. From them we can rebuild the world's libraries, the circulation of books and ideas, and the world of reading from a more personal perspective. Through some examples, one can explore the possibilities that epistolary relationships offer future researchers on the history of the book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, microwaves are used in more and more applications such as medicine, treatment of materials, thawing, defrosting, transmission of information and many more. New usages for microwaves consist of decontamination and sterilisation of seeds and sensible materials, such as very old books, fabrics, paintings, statues etc. In order to achieve best results without damaging the treated materials and objects, microwaves are to be used very carefully, and the treatment must observe certain parameters, such as heating time, final temperature, rate of heating, uniformity, pulse and pause ratio etc. This paper describes some of the research that has been carried out during the preparation of Mr. Ursu's doctoral thesis, concerning these special applications of microwave treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is an attempt to restore the list of the books of theology which had belonged to Mihai Eminescu, having regard to the poet's childhood passion, concretized later through the acquisition of Romanian manuscripts and old books. The "theological" library accompanied Eminescu in his meanderings through Transylvania and at Cernăuţi, Vienna, Iaşi and Bucureşti. The article includes a list of 25 titles of books that are currently housed by the Cabinet of manuscripts and rare books at the Romanian Academy Library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the books read in the Romanian Countries, contained, alongside with the text itself, hundreds of notes written on the white pages intended for bookbinding at the beginning or at the end, along the sides of the page or, most often, at the end of the text. The volumes of documents edited by the historians from Iaşi cover a very long period of time, from March 13, 1429 until the little union of 1859; they provide a rich, heterogeneous and extremely interesting material which acquires a freestanding value and constitutes a distinct literature revealing a fresco of a bygone era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studii Teologice is the property of Studii Teologice and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper analyses the similarities between cultural heritage libraries and museums. First, books are analyzed as heritage objects and museum artifacts. Secondly, researcher's needs and interests concerning rare books are studied, as well as the knowledge and skills a librarian must possess. Finally, main functions and special features of heritage libraries are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is focused on the "treasures" of the National Museum of Slovenia Library a part of them being the books of the count Anton Alexander Auersprg writing under the pseudonym of Anastazij Grün. In 1910 his legacy was included into the museum's book collection. The poet Anastazij Zelenc was an interesting and unique historical personage and a passionate collector of books and other printed materials. He became especially enthusiastic about antique history and folk literature. Thus, it is not surprising to find the Grimm's literary "production" in his collection. Anastazij Grün is not sufficiently known in Slovenia. Therefore it is convenient to underline his importance at the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of the great fairy tale writer, ethnologist and philologist Jacob Grimm (20th September 2013). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old Books in foreign languages: XVIIs-XVIIIs: illustrated catalog complements the Old Romanian books. XVIIs-XVIIIs catalog, published in 2007. Although the inheritage of old books in foreign languages hosted in "Antim Ivireanul" Vâlcea Public County Library collection is reduced in size, the authors consider that the value and charm of these writings deserve attention and thus they fulfill a duty of honour sharing to the public and to preserve them from oblivion. The catalog includes six volumes and for each item, Augustina Sanda Constantinescu and Alina Mihaela Nicola cover bibliographic description, references to the author, a brief presentation of content, some graphical elements of the books (internal and external), information on decorative motifs (frontispieces, initials, vignettes, engravings), accompanied by photographs and facsimiles, completed by bibliography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of Internet in the Information Society noticeably has revolutionized the uses of writing, of print culture. Thus, access and dissemination to the ancient book, secularly reduced to a privileged few, has been democratized noticeably thanks to the Net. Old and new have returned to live with. A debate that takes us to the Modern age, when the Republic of Letters, the current Internet, reflected on the authority of ancient and modern. It has been many centuries since, and the life of the ancient book, despite the technological changes, remains the same. Only the media has changed, the messages remain similar to those found during the Old Typography Regime. Evidence of how cohabitation is imposed on the idea of substitution by other means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notes on books represent an important aspect in the study of the old Romanian books. They are so important because they usually contain information that cannot be found elsewhere. Such is the case of the notes on the book prices and their owners. There are 180 notes on books in the CRV fund of the Romanian Academy Library in Cluj-Napoca. The information contained by such notes reflect the value and the importance of the book for its owner and that time. A brief survey of the notes reveals that the old Romanian books represented since their printing and until nowadays important cultural and material treasures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some historiographic approaches for studying the circulation, reading and uses of books in Nueva Granada in the Modern Age are presented, that may be useful to discern their social, political and cultural implications for the history of this region of Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Danubius is the property of Danubius and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cazania I (Tâlcul Evangheliilor - The Interpretation of the Gospels, in original) was published somewhere in Transylvania between 1567-1568. It outlined the requirements of a maximal program aimed at reforming the Eastern church in the region. The book analyses an impressing array of theological themes. It aims at promoting a different type of Christianity, and a new typology of the Christian man at the same time. If some of aspects, such as the cult of images/icons, the services for the dead, and monachism are rebuffed, one can observe a double dotrinary approach when dealing with other theological themes on the agenda. The most telling is the discussion on the soteriological value of the good deeds. All of these are examples of a search for a via media between Reformation and Orthodoxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activities of valuation and appraisal of old and rare books are analyzed as a professional service to be provided by experts in the field. First, a general outline is presented on the need of such experts as advisers and intermediaries between the participants in the business of acquiring and selling old and rare documents. An approximation to the status of such an expert is provided, including scope of action, origins and causes, and detailing a typology of the most frequent tasks in which he/she may be involved and a comprehensive procedure for this professional course of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the old book collection of the Lucian Blaga Central University Library in Cluj-Napoca, more precisely on the works published in France during the 18th century. It investigates the acquisition modalities of the publications, their dissemination in the library collections, their subject and place of publication, as well as their physical aspect, such as their format, binding, or illustrations. It also analyzes their individual particularities such as bookplates and owners' notes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a general overview of special collections in the Internet. It shows two points of view: the institutional perspective and that of non-institutional archives, something usual in the network. The method is mainly descriptive, based on an exhaustive selection of all these special collections--cradle books-in Spain and in other countries. The main objective is to know the variety of collections, and classify them by their functions, and also to describe their necessary requirements. So, firstly the concept 'digital library' is defined. Secondly, the special features of this type of collections are specified. Thirdly, their functions and requirements are described, to end up by showing some 'successful cases'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]