With over 100 university collections and ample links between museums and institutes, Berlin is a rich, well-connected academic hub. This project aims to increase the visibility of these geographically dispersed and highly diverse resources, and to provide centralized access to them.
The goals of the Digital Network for Collections are
- to promote the digitization of the collections and objects held by the universities of Berlin
- to identify and describe the collections
- to facilitate teaching and research on collections, and to share the knowledge generated with the public
- to provide access to collections and objects
The collection platform is a key anchor for collaboration between collections within the Berlin University Alliance, which is funded through the German government’s Excellence Strategy program. Basic information about Berlin’s university collections is regularly updated on the portal of the the Coordination Center for Scientific University Collections in Germany (Koordinierungsstelle) at the Center for Cultural Techniques (ZfK, HU Berlin) and then transferred to the collection platform.
The website features model projects and a shared database of information about methods and workflows, presents all aspects of the collections, and is used to promote digitization and collaboration.
An accurate, centralized record makes it possible to conduct provenance research, to collaborate on teaching projects, to engage in scientific collaboration, and to carry out exhibitions and citizen science projects. At the same time, implementing this kind of a system is a challenging task due to the multitude of requirements and the interdisciplinary nature of the project.
Our joint project is being carried out by the FU Berlin, HU Berlin, the TU Berlin, and Charité within the scope of the Berlin University Alliance. Stakeholders and collections from all institutions are involved.
By May 2023, a recommendation for action regarding the digitization of collections and collaboration within the Berlin University Alliance had been developed.