10 April 2024 – The Vatican Apostolic Library
celebrates 10 years of the project with NTT DATA

Vatican City, 8 April 2024

On 10 April 2024, the Vatican Apostolic Library celebrates ten years of collaboration with NTT DATA in the field of the conservation of its digital patrimony. In 2024, the Library embarked on a joint project with the Japanese company within which NTT DATA's technological expertise was successfully combined with the experience and humanistic mission of the Library of the Popes.

In particular, NTT DATA has developed AMLAD, a digital archiving tool used to digitize and archive the Library's holdings; the Japanese company also plays an important role in giving practical support to the Library's massive digitization project, which has now reached over 27,500 manuscripts available in their entirety and free of charge online for users all over the world.

Over the years, the joint initiatives of the Library and NTT DATA have been strengthened and further structured, driven by a common interest in the protection, conservation and dissemination of cultural heritage, encompassing various activities, including experimental ones.

On the occasion of the celebration of the tenth anniversary, the results of some of these initiatives will be presented, and in particular, the one launched in 2021 regarding the digitization and preservation of artefacts in the field of cultural heritage. The Gregorian Tower has in fact been the subject of a digital acquisition campaign aimed at immersive virtual exploration by users; the results of this initiative will be presented during the event.

Moreover, in 2023, exploring the possibilities offered by the so-called “Web3” and by the strong iteration enabled by NFT and blockchain technologies, NTT DATA has realized a new experimental project dedicated to users sharing the heritage of the Vatican Library on their social channels, demonstrating their support for the Library. During the event, this particular initiative will also be presented.

As the Prefect of the Library, Don Mauro Mantovani, S.D.B., highlights, “NTT DATA has played an important role in supporting the mission of the Vatican Library to make public the holdings collected all over the world, without distinction of race, origin, culture, religion, politics or ideology, supporting scientific research and development. It is not only the Vatican Library that realizes the value of the new communities NTT DATA is creating. We are confident that NTT DATA will continue to create new systems similar to this one with various partners around the world”.