Sustainable infrastructure for the digital shift: upgrading collections access and preservation at the University of Reading

数字化转型的可持续基础设施：升级雷丁大学馆藏访问和保存

• 批准号: AH/V012525/1
• 负责人: Guy Baxter
• 金额: $ 58.61万
• 依托单位: University of Reading
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FV012525%2F1
• 关键词: Sustainable; infrastructure; digital; shift; upgrading

This project will refurbish and upgrade physical and digital collections-based research facilities operated by the University of Reading's Museums and Special Collections Services (UMASCS), to create a step-change in the infrastructure for accessing to the University's outstanding research collections. With the University's research strategy for arts and humanities now closely aligned to the strengths of its collections, this proposal will invest in the essential research facilities that have been instrumental in transforming the University's approach to collections-based research and digital scholarship in recent years. These collections and facilities have already been critical to the successful development of major AHRC-funded research and with further investment will underpin the University's renewed strategy for arts and humanities around centres and clusters of research excellence. These include research projects underway or in development relating to the creative works of Samuel Beckett, the experimental film maker Stephen Dwoskin, modernist publishing, and the design and use of landscapes.Existing infrastructure managed by UMASCS was established in 2006 primarily to improve physical access and collections management across museums and collections. This unusual integration of museums, archives and library special collections has proved highly effective in supporting AHRC and other grant capture and in instigating innovation in collections-based research and teaching. Refurbishment of galleries and public engagement and learning spaces, supported by NLHF, Wellcome and DCMS Wolfson funding, has raised the profile and hence research and impact activity linked to UMASCS, resulting in growing on-site (over 50,000) and online usage numbers (over 150,000 social media followers). Demand for collections research is substantial, with over 2,400 visits and 16,800 book and document retrievals last academic year, in spite of COVID-19. While recent opportunities to advance digital access and scholarship have brought piecemeal investment in new technologies and skills, this proposal would enable comprehensive improvements and upgrades, particularly to support the digital shift in arts and humanities scholarship, multidisciplinary work and creative engagement. This aligns closely to the University of Reading's strategic goals.The proposal encompasses five related areas of refurbishment covering the two key sites: St Andrew's, where the main collections reading room, digitisation suite, public engagement and gallery spaces are located, and Worton Grange, an off-site facility holding high-volume collections with associated processing spaces.The St Andrew's refurbishment will increase the capacity of the reading room that serves the library and archive of the Museum of English Rural Life and the University's Special Collections. This will include new desks, upgraded digital terminals, and an expansion of open access library capacity with new directional signage. The associated digitisation suite will be upgraded to enable better quality and faster image capture, digital asset management and digital preservation. New AV equipment will replace the current ad hoc facilities for digitising time-based media. In the public areas, upgraded facilities for research data capture from the public or specific groups will enable greater flexibility, and be brought onto a common platform with online data capture, enabling a linked open data approach.At Worton Grange, the collections access and digitisation area will be refurbished to create a collections research lab. This will enable researchers to hot-desk and work alongside collections staff. The upgrade will improve the specification and optimise storage space of including refurbishment of the storage racks to enable a wider range of collections - such as the University's Herbarium - to be brought on-site, so that research facilities can be deployed and shared more effectively.

该项目将翻新和升级由雷丁大学博物馆和特别收藏服务（UMASCS）运营的基于物理和数字收藏的研究设施，为访问大学优秀的研究藏品创造一个阶梯式的基础设施变化。随着大学的艺术和人文研究战略现在与其收藏的优势密切相关，这项提案将投资于基本的研究设施，这些设施近年来在大学转变以收藏为基础的研究和数字奖学金的方法方面发挥了重要作用。这些藏品和设施已经对主要的ahrc资助研究的成功发展至关重要，进一步的投资将巩固大学围绕卓越研究中心和集群的艺术和人文学科的新战略。其中包括正在进行或正在开发的与塞缪尔·贝克特（Samuel Beckett）、实验电影制作人斯蒂芬·德沃斯金（Stephen Dwoskin）的创意作品有关的研究项目，现代主义出版，以及景观的设计和利用。由UMASCS管理的现有基础设施建立于2006年，主要是为了改善博物馆和藏品的实际访问和藏品管理。事实证明，博物馆、档案馆和图书馆特别馆藏的这种不同寻常的整合，在支持AHRC和其他获得拨款方面非常有效，并在以馆藏为基础的研究和教学方面激发了创新。在NLHF， Wellcome和DCMS Wolfson的资助下，画廊和公众参与和学习空间的翻新提高了UMASCS的知名度，从而提高了与UMASCS相关的研究和影响活动，从而增加了现场（超过50,000）和在线使用数量（超过150,000社交媒体关注者）。尽管2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）肆虐，但对馆藏研究的需求仍然很大，上一学年的访问量超过2400次，图书和文献检索量达到16800次。虽然最近推动数字访问和奖学金的机会带来了对新技术和技能的零星投资，但该提案将实现全面的改进和升级，特别是支持艺术和人文奖学金、多学科工作和创造性参与的数字化转型。这与雷丁大学的战略目标密切相关。该方案包括五个相关的翻新区域，覆盖两个关键地点：St Andrew’s，主要藏书阅览室、数字化套房、公众参与和画廊空间，以及Worton Grange，一个场外设施，拥有大量藏书和相关的处理空间。圣安德鲁的翻新将增加阅览室的容量，阅览室为英国乡村生活博物馆和大学特别馆藏的图书馆和档案馆提供服务。这将包括新的办公桌，升级的数字终端，以及用新的方向标志扩展开放访问图书馆的容量。相关的数字化套件将进行升级，以实现更高质量和更快的图像捕获、数字资产管理和数字保存。新的视听设备将取代目前用于数字化基于时间的媒体的临时设施。在公共领域，用于从公众或特定群体获取研究数据的升级设施将提供更大的灵活性，并将其与在线数据获取结合到一个共同平台上，从而实现链接的开放数据方法。在Worton Grange，收藏访问和数字化区域将被翻新，以创建一个收藏研究实验室。这将使研究人员能够与收集人员一起工作。升级将改善规格和优化存储空间，包括翻新存储架，使更广泛的收藏品-例如大学的植物标本室-可以带到现场，以便研究设施可以更有效地部署和共享。