Late in 2006 Libraries Without Walls received a grant from the Clay Mathematics Institute to digitize the scientific notebooks ("protokols") maintained by mathematician Felix Klein from 1872-1912, while Klein was Professor of Mathematics and doing advanced mathematical research.

Klein was Professor of Mathematics
...1872-1875 at the University of Erlangen
...1875-1880 at the Technical University (Technische Hochschule) in Munich
...1880-1886 at the University of Leipzig
...and from 1886-1913 at the University of Goettingen.

The protokols are not only filled with his mathematical conjectures and results, but reveal the versatile mind of one of the foremost researchers of the contemporary era. In addition, many pages are simply beautiful.

The entire collection of 29 volumes of notebooks was digitized in a marathon effort that took only 4 days, due to the logistic and handling techniques that have been developed for the efficient and least-intrusive digitization of bound materials. Digital Photographer, Ardon Bar Hama, outdid himself on this project, and the results are worth the effort.

The images are currently being optimized for viewing (deskewing, cropping, and file conversion). Each journal will be put on display on this site as each is sequentially completed.

Instructions

In order to view the pages of the individual journal protokols, click on its cover in the table, below. (Its probably best to select one of the early notebooks, given that the notebooks are being uploaded in chronological order, and the more recent ones will be empty for a few more days.)

Clicking on a cover will open a Libraries Without Walls' "book viewer page." That page includes some user tools in the left-hand navigation bar, which will enable you to navigate from page to page. If you choose to view the notebook pages in "thumbnail view" (lower tool in the navigation bar) you'll be able to see the individual pages of a journal. Once you are in that view, clicking any page of interest to you will enable you to magnify the image to a resolution of your convenience.

If you are interested in supporting the digitization of collections of similar stature, please write: grants@librarieswithoutwalls.org .