Special Issue on Digital preservation of Written Heritage and Text Processing Technology - Preface

[Extract] The notion of “written heritage” concerns the immense field regarding written culture. It is difficult to attempt a definition of written heritage. In very general terms, it can be said that it includes any surface containing something written. Different writing supports can be involved, such as papyri, parchments, manuscripts, books, but also contemporary type of medium, such as posters, newspapers, magazines, etc. The written cultural heritage such as general written records are means of communication through space and time of costumes, culture, and beliefs. They constitute the archive of the evolution of mentality, knowledge, sciences, and arts and are considered guardians of the language