180 years of Catholic history have been digitally preserved by the brand new archive of The Tablet, a weekly journal that dates back to 1840. Developed in partnership with digital publishing experts Exact Editions, the archive serves as an important ever-expanding historical record that transcends its affiliation with the Catholic Church in terms of academic value.

As the second-oldest surviving weekly publication in Britain, the title has continually offered in-depth coverage across a plethora of topics including religion, current affairs, politics, social issues and the arts. Readers of The Tablet will be able to trace the narrative of the last two centuries with reports on world events such as the Irish Famine of 1847, the beginning of World War II in 1945 and the attempted assassination of the Pope in 1981.

Available on Web, iOS and Android devices, this new feat of cultural preservation allows a seamless cross-platform browsing experience for institutions around the world. The advanced search function enables subscribers to search, share and cite every news piece, article and review from the publication. This intuitive interface rejuvenates old material, offering a window to discover the past and reflect upon the similarities and differences it bears to the current age.

The complete archive of The Tablet is available in the Exact Editions institutional shop here: https://institutions.exacteditions.com/the-tablet

CEO Amanda Davison-Young commented: “There is an incredible amount of the Catholic Church’s history preserved within the digital pages of the archive; the invaluable content of 8,750 issues will be indispensable as a historical resource for institutions around the world.”

Managing Director of Exact Editions, Daryl Rayner, said: “The state-of-the-art platform allows users to easily navigate the archive, whether it’s the latest content or the very first issue from 16 May 1840. The comprehensive search functionalities also allow subscribers to locate specific articles and events of historical significance with ease.”

About The Tablet:
The Tablet is a Catholic weekly journal that has been published continually since 1840, making it the second-oldest surviving weekly journal in Britain. It reports on religion current affairs, politics, social issues, literature and the arts with a special emphasis on Roman Catholicism while remaining ecumenical. It is committed to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.

Prestigious contributors to its pages have included Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, Pope Benedict XVI, Fr Hans Küng, Tony Blair and David Willcocks.

About Exact Editions:
Exact Editions is a digital publishing company based in London. They are a team of producers, developers and designers who turn periodicals with archives into dynamic, user-friendly digital editions. Exact Editions specialises in digitising content and selling subscriptions across web, iOS and Android platforms, for individuals and institutions.

DUBLIN, Ohio, 5 March 2019—OCLC, a leading library technology and research organization, has published The Library 100: Top Novels of All Time, a list of the novels most widely available in libraries today. The list is based on data in WorldCat, the world’s most comprehensive database of information about library collections.

Produced and maintained by OCLC and individual member libraries and library organizations, WorldCat reflects the collections of more than 18,000 libraries worldwide. It includes information about more than 2.7 billion copies of more than 447 million titles. This aggregate worldwide library collection is likely the best view of the global scholarly and published record.

“Libraries provide a unique opportunity to track long-term trends in published literature,” said Skip Prichard, OCLC President and CEO. “WorldCat is a unique resource that can tell us more about publishing patterns and, by extension, cultural patterns.”

According to WorldCat, “Don Quixote,” by Miguel de Cervantes, is the most widely held novel in libraries worldwide. “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,” by Lewis Carroll is second, followed by “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” both by Mark Twain. “Treasure Island,” by Robert Louis Stevenson, takes the fifth spot.

“Of course, the list of top novels emphasizes classics,” Prichard continued, “and so reflects dominant cultural views over the years about the canon and its formation. Librarians are aware of this and are more mindful than ever of the need to think critically about their collections. Librarians are actively seeking out and preserving overlooked, minority and marginalized perspectives.” (Read Prichard’s blog post at https://oc.lc/top-novel-blog.)

“These classic novels are published in multiple versions, translated, retold for younger readers and widely distributed in core collections,” noted Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC Vice President of Membership and Research. “We cluster these algorithmically, sometimes pulling together hundreds of different versions and editions.”

“The top novels list is an example of what is possible when we study aggregate library data,” Dempsey added. “We have also done other work, notably looking at the characteristics of the national published record in several individual countries. This aggregate collection can help us track both presences and absences across the library system, and help libraries take a more critical look at collections. At OCLC, we will be examining aspects of these topics in more depth.”

The full list, and more information about The Library 100 can be found at www.oclc.org/en/worldcat/library100.html.