RLUK libraries collectively hold a very wide range of unique and distinctive print and heritage collections, and individual RLUK libraries have developed an array of innovative practice in promoting their value as a research resource. This strand of work will develop opportunities for maximising the potential of these collections in all formats held by RLUK members. This will include activity on public engagement, fundraising, promotion, resource discovery and delivery, and digitisation, and will also encompass value, impact and staff skills. A particular strand of work will focus on digital humanities which will explore innovative research methods, issues of access, search and re-use. The role of RLUK in promoting business models for collaborative digitisation will be explored in the context of the recent report on special collections in ARL libraries projecting the increasing importance of large-scale digitisation on special and unique collections. The interest of RLUK in digital and physical preservation will continue as a separate strand of activity.
Working group members
- Chris Banks (Chair), Imperial College London
- Caroline Brazier, British Library
- Melanie Cheung, RLUK
- Jess Gardner, University of Bristol
- Anne Jarvis, University of Cambridge
- Mike Mertens, RLUK
- Patricia Methven, King’s College London
- Christine Wise, Senate House Libraries
Top image courtesy of University of Bristol Library, Special Collections