The digitalization and preservation of unique collections using the Lublin University of Technology’s Repository of Open Collections and Knowledge

Project funded by state budget funds granted by the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the Social Responsibility of Science III program – Support for scientific libraries (Polska)

Project title: The digitalization and preservation of unique collections using the Lublin University of Technology’s Repository of Open Collections and Knowledge

Agreement number: SBN/SP/0080/2026/01

Project implementation period: 29.05.2026 - 29.12.2027 r.

Principal Investigator: mgr Łukasz Tomczak

Project value: 221 148,00 PLN

Funds granted for Lublin University of Technology: 176 176,00 PLN

Abstract: The main aim of the project is to ensure the long-term preservation of written sources of significant importance to the technical sciences and their heritage by digitising and making them accessible, alongside the cataloguing of selected records. The project involves the cataloguing and digitisation of written resources documenting the development of Polish engineering thought from the early 20th century to the 1990s. The collections to be digitised are unique on a national scale due to their scientific and documentary value. The collection brings together unique scientific publications within a unified Open Collections and Knowledge Repository (ROCK), creating a publicly accessible knowledge base on the history of technical sciences in Poland. The project is of international significance for scientific heritage, particularly in the disciplines of mechanical, materials, electrical and civil engineering. The documents constitute the written heritage of technical sciences – a collection of textbooks, notes and printed works of historical and educational significance. The resources reflect the actual relationship between theoretical science and engineering practice.

Specific objectives of the project: a) to promote knowledge of the history of technical sciences and to support interdisciplinary research by providing access to rare research and teaching materials; b) to preserve and make available unique written resources documenting the development of technical sciences in Poland, c) to promote the achievements of engineering communities in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, automation, technical computing and materials engineering; d) to integrate the developed resources with the Lublin University of Technology’s Open Collections and Knowledge Repository (ROCK).

The project will result in the preservation and provision of unique written resources in electronic form. These will be available in a modern online repository to all interested parties, enabling easy access to the digital collections. The specific and verifiable outcomes of the project are: a) 5,832 digitised pages; b) 16 records processed and entered; c) 16 resources following conservation.