Service Catalogue

As content or subject specialists, we actively engage with all steps in the academic research journey through liaison and direct roles in teaching, learning, research and projects with the University's academic community. This can be cross insitution, international or internal. Provision of uniquely University of Edinburgh content through collections knowledge and context. This can be as course organisers and 'visiting' lecturers for specific courses or as named project or co investigators bringing a strong cross discipline dimension to teaching, learning and research activity.

We ensure the University's heritage collections, venues and expertise are utilised in a co-creative approach with communities, civic organisations and individuals to have positive social impact.

As Conservation and (Archive and Museum) Collections Management professionals and para-professionals, we work collaboratively and innovatively to preserve, make accessible, understand and interpret - now and for the future - the University’s world class heritage collections, both physical and digital.

Our approach is characterised by risk assessment and management, adherence to an ethical framework and best practice standards, and the development of knowledge of both the collections and their care. The context is nuanced and dynamic as a result of collection materiality, size/growth and location/movement. Access demands for teaching, research, display, exhibition, internal and external loan, digitisation and outreach present further complexity.

C&CM activity and expertise is disseminated and shared, making a significant contribution to the CRC as sector leader.

We enable worldwide access to the University’s unique Heritage Collections. Information and insight into the collections in response to researchers’ needs is provided by an enquiries service, which is delivered by specialist staff across Heritage Collections. Physical access to collections can be provided at sites across campus, including the Centre for Research Collections, St Cecilia’s Hall and the University Collections Facility. For researchers unable to visit in person, we provide online access including appointments for the Virtual Reading Room, Sound Streamer for Sound Archives, and Mediahopper for born-digital and digitised video content.

We work with the Cultural Heritage Digitisation Service to provide digital media, including photography, 3D scans, film, sound recordings, largescale digitisation projects, and access to born digital artworks and archives. We follow an Open by Default policy for licensing to encourage widespread usage of our collections, underpinned by Copyright and GDPR legislation. The service underpins the use of digitised (or born digital) collections in research publications and outputs. We support the University's Open Access agenda through the provision of open access licensing for collections. Digitisation allows our collections to reach audiences around the world .

We make the University’s heritage is available to the public through St Cecilia’s Concert Hall & Music Museum, the Main Library Exhibition Gallery, campus-wide locations and through our online exhibition platform (exhibitions.ed.ac.uk), facilitated and curated by specialist staff. St Cecilia's Hall is Scotland's oldest concert hall and the university's only public museum. The building displays historic musical instruments, many of which are maintained in playable condition. Visitors have the opportunity to explore this world-class collection spanning five centuries of musical heritage and enjoy guided tours. The Main Library Exhibition Gallery and online exhibition platform provide students and staff with a public engagement platform to share research outputs through professionally curated exhibitions accompanied by public events.

We aim to develop and manage projects in line with Heritage Collection priorities and University values and strategic objectives. Projects should explore and develop collaborative partnerships, internal and external, to enhance access to or deepen our understanding of the collections held by the University.

Project development should be systematic and cohesive and we should strive to build models of best practice, create a life cycle and core documentation to support future projects.

We support University stakeholder relationship management, managing events, tours and meetings and developing diverse supportive materials as relevant to the University's heritage collections.

We support University stakeholder relationship management, managing events, tours and meetings and developing diverse supportive materials as relevant to the University's heritage collections.

We facilitate academic staff to deliver seminars and lectures using heritage collection items as the basis of their teaching. These can be delivered inperson or online (both live and prerecorded). The service is supported by collection curators who provide specialist support and advice.

We manage and provide physical and digital access to the University's corporate memory, undertaking institutional recordkeeping to enable legal compliance, support current and future business, communications and marketing, research, learning and teaching.