Library's digitisation tender notice is published

Last weekend's announcement that the National Library of Ireland plans to digitise its collection of Roman Catholic parish registers (see my report) is now official!

The Library's tender notice has gone live on both the EU and Ireland's public procurement sites.

As is normal procedure, the notice doesn't provide an awful lot of detail. In brief, it says that the National Library of Ireland (NLI) is looking to enter into a service concession agreement with one or more companies for the digitisation of specific collections (lots), as below:

• The digitisation of the NLI's collection of material of genealogical interest, including parish records, directories and register of electors.
  
• The digitisation of the NLI's journals collection
  
• The digitisation of the NLI's newspaper collection
  
• The digitisation of the NLI's photographic collection.
  

Precise details will only be provided to those applicants who pass through the first round of shortlisting.

Applicants can apply for one or more of these lots and must have provided digitisation services to at least one cultural institution similar to the NLI in the last five years. The deadline for applications is 1 November 2012.

You can view the full tender notice here.