Digital Wales

Many collections from the Libraries, Archives, and Museums of, Wales have been digitised and are now available online. The digitised items include books, pictures, manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings, and videos.

Many important digital projects are now available to view free of charge on the world wide web. Digitising these projects is an ever developing field which now encompasses all aspects of Welsh life and history. It is hoped the guide will provide you with an overview of the type of material that currently exists in Wales.

Click on any of the following links to access digitised collections about Wales.

• Famous people
  Including many resources of people from all walks of life
• Collections from the past
  Information about, and access to, manuscripts and archives
• Modern Welsh history
  Including projects about WWII, politics and many news clips
• Local history
  For resources on Swansea, Cardiff, Rhondda, Powys, Newport, Wrexham, Carmarthenshire and Caerphilly
• Entertainment and social history
  Including rural life, Celtic languages, local communities, entertainment, sport and emigration
• Architectural drawings
  Digitised architectural drawings including church plans and other buildings from Wales
• Books and literature
  Providing access to digitised copies of old books and biographies of authors
• Maps
  Including historical mapping and access to many old maps of Wales
• Historic paintings and drawings
  Including many historic drawings and paintings of Wales or from Welsh artists.
• Artists
  Online paintings and drawings by some of Wales' more famous artists from their personal websites and online galleries
• Photographs
  Many collections of photographs focusing on siocal history and events such as the 84 Miners Strike
• Aerial Photographs
  A listing of aerial photographs from Wales, mainly from the Gathering the Jewels site

Below are examples of the more comprehensive resources providing digitised images of all aspect of Welsh life and history

Gathering the Jewels
Gathering the Jewels is a collection of images of Welsh life, illustrating the natural and social history of Wales throughout the ages. Contents of images include historic letters, paintings, artefacts and photographs, gathered from museums, libraries, record offices and archives throughout Wales. There are a number of ways to search the Gathering the Jewels database, including a subject search, A-Z listing, and a themed search. The website has sections on Agriculture and Food Production, Arts and Culture, Education, Health, Welfare and Charity, Industry, Law and Order, Neighbourhood and Community, Physical Environment/Landscape, Protest and Politics, Religion and Belief, Sport and Leisure, Transport, Wales and the World, War and Rebellion and Working Lives.

Digital Mirror
The National Library for Wales has a long-term programme for digitising its treasures, and making them available on the World Wide Web. The Digital Mirror provides access to many of the Treasures held at the National Library of Wales by displaying them on the internet and as a result making them available to all sections of society and the wider world. Digital Mirror also contains information to the library's digitisation schemes, and a listing of projects including Frames Works of Art, and Ymgyrchu. The Treasures section contains digital access to many of the National Library's collections including manuscripts, archives, maps, photographs and pictures.