VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Thousands of rare manuscripts, until now accessible only to scholars at the Vatican, will go online over the next four years, thanks to a Japanese information technology company.

The library, founded by Pope Nicholas V in the 15th century, preserves some 82,000 manuscripts dating back to the early centuries of Christianity. Among its treasures are an illustrated edition of the works of the Roman poet Virgil, produced around the year 400, and illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy by the 15th-century Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli.

The library has been scanning its collection for several years with help from various nonprofit groups.