Launching N-RICH Digitisation Capability Pilot
We are very pleased to announce the official launch of the Digital Capability Pilot of our new National Research Infrastructure for Cultural Heritage (N-RICH) Prototype project. The N-RICH Prototype project represents a significant investment in the UK's renowned cultural heritage collections, made possible through funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund Preliminary Activity grant awarded to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The project is being delivered by the Towards a National Collection (TaNC) programme in close collaboration with AHRC.
The Digital Capability Pilot is led by a University of Oxford team, bringing together expertise from the University’s Libraries, Museums and Oxford e-Research Centre.
The Oxford team will work with the Open Preservation Foundation, which provides expertise and support in open software and standards essential for long-term digital access. The Foundation also helps the digital preservation community develop sustainable resources.
The Digital Capability Pilot will partner with colleagues from across the cultural heritage and Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sectors to design, test, cost and establish the priorities of a scalable methodology for digitisation across diverse collection types.
Amy Warner May, Associate Director for Scholarly Resources, and the lead for digital library infrastructure, innovation and scholarship at the Bodleian Libraries says "I'm excited to see my colleagues leading the work in this space, and I know that as practitioners in digitisation and metadata standards, they will be able to understand the constraints and challenges, as well as the opportunities the N-RICH prototype has in this space. The N-RICH prototype is taking a bold step forward in supporting the sector in developing sustainable digital infrastructures, and also in working with GLAM organisations to prepare and engage with the opportunities to harness their collections for innovative research.”
David de Roure, Professor of e-Research and Director of the Digital Scholarship @ Oxford initiative says “As a researcher I have long advocated for GLAM collections to be recognised as critical digital research infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities in the UK and internationally. In this pilot I’ll be guiding questions about potential research use and am excited to see the N-RICH prototype move forward both discussion and progress in building capacity in GLAMs to enable researchers like me to use their fantastic collections.”
Neil Jefferies, Executive Director of the Open Preservation says “The Open Preservation Foundation is thrilled to contribute its expertise in file and metadata formats to this fascinating project, which has the potential to transform the use of Cultural Heritage materials in research.”
To find out more about the Digital Capability Pilot, contact the team on tdc@bodleian.ox.ac.uk or visit https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/research-partnerships/n-rich-digitisation-capability-pilot