The View From Kalamazoo

Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts
“The Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts encompasses more than 60,000 searchable entries of manuscripts written before 1600 and consisting of five or more leaves. This database is intended to be a powerful tool in:

• Locating and identifying information about particular manuscripts.
• Establishing the history and provenance of manuscripts.
• Aggregating descriptive information about specific classes or types of manuscripts.

It includes bibliographic information culled from approximately 4,000 catalogues issued by 400 dealers and auction houses since the early nineteenth century. This data is supplemented by entries from inventories and catalogues of private and institutional libraries. With twenty-nine searchable fields, it provides broad access to manuscripts through a range of discrete descriptive (i.e., vendor, catalogue name or number, item number, price, etc.) and physical (leaves, size, illuminations, etc.) properties. Multiple references to the same manuscript are cross-referenced to facilitate the tracking of individual manuscripts. The database is updated and augmented periodically on an ongoing basis.”