The Virtual Reading Rooms (VRRs) Toolkit is a resource for all collection-holding institutions, including libraries, archives, and museums, which are interested in setting up a VRR consultation service or are at the early stages of VRR development.
VRRs constituted part of the emergency response of libraries and archives to the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Through VRRs, many institutions were able to provide geographically remote access to collections and learning materials to a worldwide audience.
Since then, VRRs have increasingly been integrated into the existing service offering of institutions as a way of ensuring their sustainability and further development. Moreover, libraries and archives are becoming more aware of the potential of VRRs to make different types of collections accessible to a variety of audience groups.
In October 2022, RLUK in collaboration with its partners, held an international sprint relay symposium on ‘Creating a community-driven toolkit for the development and delivery of Virtual Reading Room services’. This community-driven toolkit constitutes the collaborative output of the symposium and it is based on intelligence gathered through talks, discussions, and interactive sessions where delegates shared their experiences in developing and running VRRs for the benefit of the sector.
