GLAMTech: Technologies for Gardens, Libraries and Museums Collections Research

This proposal represents part of a determined effort to enable the four world-class Museums in the University of Oxford (the Ashmolean, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the History of Science Museum and the University Museum of Natural History), together with the Bodleian Library, to work together more effectively in terms of collections conservation and research. In accordance with the University Strategic Plan, it also represents an opportunity for the museums and libraries to work more closely in research terms with academic departments, in this case the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art (RLAHA), School of Archaeology.

The planned creation of the Collections Teaching and Research Centre (CTRC) in Oxford, a joint initiative between the four museums and the Bodleian Library, to which the University has already committed £8.1M, will provide two floors of dedicated specialist facilities for teaching, digitization, research and conservation space. Originally scheduled to open in October 2021, the proposal is to locate the replacement instruments requested in this bid within the CTRC when it opens, which presents a unique opportunity to co-locate facilities and equipment for the study and care of more than 8.5 million objects in the University collections.

Together with RLAHA, this consortium of museums has a considerable track record in the study of archaeological and historical objects, covering metals, glass, ceramics and glazes, paintings and pigments, manuscripts and ethnographic objects. This proposal builds on a track record of joint research grant applications between RLAHA and the Museums and Libraries in Oxford.

Successful applications include BookNet ('A network for the technological study of the book and manuscript as artefact', AHRC Science and Heritage Cluster), which was a collaboration between RLAHA and the Bodleian Library. Other initiatives have involved the Ashmolean Museum and RLAHA, such as 'Deep Blue' - a research programme to study the world history of the use of cobalt pigment in ceramic glazes and glasses.

The main focus of the bid is replacement equipment in two main areas - imaging and digitization of the collection, and chemical analysis using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In all cases, the requested equipment is a replacement and upgrade for existing instrumentation, but we wish to take advantage of new developments in miniaturization and portability to enhance the effectiveness of the equipment.

In addition to promoting collaboration between Oxford University Museums and Departments, the vision for GLAMtech is to provide a regional centre for the study of museum and archaeological artefacts. Potential partner organizations, including the Oxfordshire Museums Service, Oxford Archaeology, the Portable Antiquities Scheme, Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, have expressed interest in arranging access to these facilities.

To this end, many of the replacement instruments requested are designed to be portable, and flexible enough, to be taken to the objects, either in the Oxford museums, or further afield to partner organizations. Moreover, part of the proposal is to work towards a commercial spin-out element. The aim would be to raise money, initially from HEIF or Business Engagement sources, to enable the promotion of analytical capability and expertise on a commercial basis to customers beyond the regional consortium. The aim of this is to provide an income stream to ensure the sustainability of the centre.