Vatican Library opening after 3-year major renovation

(Sept.14,2010) Even though the Vatican Library is opening its doors officially next Monday after a three-year major renovation, most of the general public will never get a chance to walk down the frescoed halls of the Pope's library. Only qualified students, scholars and historians are granted permission to leaf through the precious volumes, or flip through the microfilm reproductions. An average of 20,000 people from all over the world visit the library's stacks each year. However, now to help celebrate its extensive restoration, the Vatican Library is organizing a special exhibit next to St. Peter's Square, to help visitors to Rome get a look and feel for the real library.
Visitors to the exhibit in the Braccio Carlo Magno hall from Nov. 10 to Jan. 31, 2011, will be able to slip on white gloves and see exact replicas of medieval and Renaissance era manuscripts, said the curator of the library's printed collections. Barbara Jatta, a recent papal appointee, was one of a number of Vatican Library officials, who attended Monday’s news conference unveiling the newly renovated rooms. "We want to offer the general public an opportunity to learn about the Vatican Library, its history and how it began, as well as how it has integrated the latest technology in handling and caring for its treasures, she said.
Created by Pope Nicholas V in the 15th century, the Vatican Library has about 75,000 manuscripts and more than 1.1 million printed books, covering everything from mathematics to law, theology and literature. Some 8,500 very old printed books and numerous coins and medallions, are also part of its collection.