Funding organisation: DFG Funding level: Physical resources Running time: 2009 – 2010 (24 months pilot stage)   Project description: The project “Digitisation and Indexation of 18th century prints published in the German-speaking world” (Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachraum erschienenen Drucke des 18. Jahrhunderts (VD 18)) aims to implement a digital library of the 18th century German-speaking world complete with a high level of indexation. Thus, the tradition of DFG-funded cataloguing and digitisation projects for previous centuries (VD 16, VD 17) is carried on, but also supplemented by the use of new methodological and technical approaches. In this pilot stage, new control processes and different business models will be introduced at the partner libraries for being able to ensure the smooth cooperative processing of about 100,000 of the total of about 600,000 18th century titles within the two years planned. Further, the aim of the pilot stage is to construe a robust quantity and time framework for the main phase, to identify suitable libraries and to optimise procedures used for efficient cooperation of as many libraries of as many different consortia as possible.   The pilot stage of the VD 18 is being lead and managed by the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt. Partners in this pilot stage are the Staatsbibliothek Berlin-Preussischer Kulturbesitz, the Sächsische Landesbibliothek-Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, the Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, the Professorial Chair of Historical and Cultural Information Processing at the University of Cologne as well as the German library networks GBV, BVB, SWB and HBZ.