8 April 2025 press release

Our culture of the written word shapes our thinking, our media and our communication. Yet until now, a large part of this heritage — consisting of the historical typefaces created over the last 200 years — has lain dormant in archives, museums and libraries. Four renowned institutions are now launching a groundbreaking project that will take this cultural heritage into the digital age. Over the next 30 months, the German National Library, the Kunstbibliothek –Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz and the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz will be systematically digitising historical typeface samples and providing open access to them for the first time.

A digital archive for typography – why this is important

Typeface samples are far more than just nostalgic artefacts from the past. These documents play a key part in art, book and media history and offer valuable insights into the development of typeface design. They also hold enormous potential for modern technologies: from improving optical character recognition (OCR) with artificial intelligence to providing inspiration for designers, creatives and historians, an archive of digitised typefaces opens up brand new possibilities.

Open access to more than 6,000 typeface samples now available for the first time

The aim of the project is to digitise and provide open access to 6,350 historical typeface samples held in the collections of the institutions involved. These include rare, unique documents from the period after 1820, many of which have been difficult to access until now. This open access transformation will make it easy for researchers, students, graphic designers and the general public to make use of this valuable heritage.

Artificial intelligence meets typographic history

Alongside the digitisation work, the project will involve the development of a science-based classification system for historical typefaces. This will enhance the cataloguing of typefaces and their integration into the Integrated Authority File (GND), a central database for library metadata. Moreover, the project will involve the use of innovative AI: the transcription of selected typeface samples will create training material that can be used to improve OCR models. This will make the digital recognition of historic typefaces more accurate in the future and open up new pathways for the digital humanities and computer vision.

On the way to a digital typeface portal

The initiative is one of the first steps towards the creation of a comprehensive digital portal for Germany's typographic cultural heritage – similar to the theme-based subportals in the German Digital Library. The long-term goal is to facilitate an interdisciplinary approach which encompasses the creative industries and persons interested in typography as well as researchers. The cataloguing process will be supported by elements of citizen science, since the systematic documentation of this heritage will require extensive cooperation.

Funded by the German Research Foundation, the project combines scientific excellence with digital innovation and will make an important chapter in Germany's cultural history accessible to all. It will not only preserve the country's typographic heritage but also actively take it forward into the future.

Background

The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Berlin State Library) is one of Europe's largest libraries. It provides resources and technologies for international digital exchange and free access to information. Founded in 1661, its collections — which include numerous unique items — are renowned for their exceptional cultural diversity, broad geographic scope, and historical depth. As part of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation), the library provides outstanding infrastructure for researchers and offers a vibrant programme of events for the local public.

Over the last 100 years or more, the German National Library has been collecting, documenting and archiving all texts and sound recordings published in Germany and the German language since 1913 and making them available for public use. It offers a comprehensive range of services at its sites in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main along with digital services that can be accessed all over the world. With the German Exile Archive 1933-1945 and the German Museum of Books and Writing, the German National Library also has valuable and rich special collections.

With 30,000 students from 120 nations, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is one of Germany's biggest universities. Around 4,500 specialists in almost all academic disciplines teach and carry out research at more than 100 institutes and clinics. The Johannes Gutenberg University enjoys global renown as a research university. Its extensive academic offering encompasses over 70 subjects and more than 240 study programmes.

The Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Art Library,  National Museums in Berlin – Prussian Cultural Heritage) is an interdisciplinary research institution that houses one of the world's largest museum libraries. It also contains important collections on the history of architecture, photography, graphic design and fashion as well as book and media art. Together, the library and the museum collections represent the whole spectrum of sources used for research in the fields of art and cultural studies.

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