Valencian Digital Library

BIVALDI is headquartered at the Monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes (Monestir de Sant Miquel dels Reis), a UNESCO World Heritage site and an exceptional example of Valencian art. The monastery's construction began in 1548 under the patronage of the Duke of Calabria, who intended it as a Jerónima monastery. The architectural design was influenced by French masters and the courtly style of the time, with the initial plan by architect Covarrubias featuring a central church and two lateral cloisters with four corner towers. The construction was prolonged over centuries; the cloister design was later modified to resemble the Patio de los Evangelistas of El Escorial. The complex includes a main church with twin square towers, a two-story cloister with the library and chapter house on the ground floor, and monk cells on the upper floor. Between 1997 and 2000, the monastery underwent extensive rehabilitation to serve as the current seat of the Biblioteca Valenciana and its digital project.

The digital collection is organized into several key areas, including the 'Fondo Antiguo' (Old Fund), which is structured into specific collections of historical significance. A notable strength of the archive is its 'Hemeroteca' (Periodicals), distinguished by the antiquity of its holdings. The library also boasts a high-quality and varied collection of digitized graphic materials, encompassing photographic documents and other visual media. The holdings include works that are both born-digital and digitized versions of physical texts, spanning from the 15th century to the present. Additionally, the library maintains a reduced number of bibliographic records that link to digital works from other institutions through specific agreements, such as certain publications from the Biblioteca Nacional de España, thereby expanding the scope of accessible resources for researchers.

As the first public digital library in Spain with its own digitized corpus, BIVALDI represents a critical milestone in the digital preservation of regional heritage. Its integration into the Biblioteca Virtual del Patrimonio Bibliográfico underscores its role in the national strategy for bibliographic conservation. The library's management of bibliographic records follows standardized applications, ensuring interoperability and long-term accessibility. By digitizing the rich collections of the Biblioteca Valenciana, which are housed in the historic Monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes, the project bridges the gap between a monumental architectural heritage and modern digital access, making the cultural patrimony of the Valencian Community available to a global audience for research and education.