A Golden Afternoon: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

"You can learn a lot of things from the flowers,
Especially in the month of June..."

"All In The Golden Afternoon" from Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland'

After a journey on the train we all arrived at Kew's Library, Art & Archives, housed just down the road from an entrance into the gardens. We were led by the Head of Library, Art & Archives, Fiona Ainsworth who informed us that the library itself is 165 years old and holds:

over 185,000 monographs

150,000 pamphlets and reprints

5,000 periodicals

over 20,000 maps

200,000 prints and drawings

7 million sheets of paper

She went on to say she and her team of 20 are moving towards digitizing the collection to make it more accessible, which would be wonderful because the items she showed us were wonderful! Ms. Ainsworth explained how a single botanical illustration holds so much value because it contains all scientific aspects of a specimen through multiple stages of its cycle and multiple angles, whereas a photograph would only show one angle and one stage of the specimen's cycle.

The items that were laid out for us to view were not only beautiful but, as Ms. Ainsworth explained, they also show how environmental disturbances and climate change affect the habitat range of certain specimens over time.

One thing that her team was tasked with was working to first collect and then prevent further wear and tear to botanic illustrations that had been used in-the-field and had therefore been folded and unfolded repeatedly or frequently exposed to the elements.

Another challenge is preventing the detrimental practice of those who razor out botanic illustrations from books to then sell them as items to be framed and displayed solitarily. They decided to purchase one that came to their attention simply to remove it from this destructive market.

One particular project that their team is currently working on is the Joseph Hooker Collection. They are transcribing, digitizing, and otherwise making available online, the work and correspondence of Joseph Hooker, one of the early directors of the gardens. The work of this significant, yet relatively unknown naturalist and botanist, and the process in which it is being processed is further described here.

The archives are currently not cataloged and the finding aids are not digital but they hope to soon have the resources to do so and therefore further their ability to aid in scientific, historical, and social research.

Comments

Starting off with Science at The Royal Institution

Interactive musical Periodic Table challenges the participant to find and tap certain chemical elements as they light up and are mentioned Our very first site visit was to The Royal Institution (RI), which website describes it as “an independent charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science”. It was founded in 1799, and was consistently an epicenter for lectures, discoveries, and inventions—propelling both science and simultaneously, the whole of society, forward. A plaque commemorating Her Majesty The Queen's visit in 2008 to the RI Dr. Frank James led us around the historic building while sharing with us th e timeline of the RI. Those of us with less scientific savvy were still able to appreciate the care and attention given to their collection of artifacts, documents and even the restoration work of one particular room. The restored staircase, original to the building In one case, the conservation p...

Bletchley Park : Information Safehold

After our class visit to The National Museum of Computing some of us ventured on to Bletchley Park . The location of the codebreakers and all of the vital and top secret work that was done there echoes the value of relocating collections for safekeeping during times of conflict. Heading towards the Mansion at Bletchley Park Due to London being such a target, and this new tactic of fighting a war through decoding of messages and information, removing such work to the country was imperative. The cultural and historical significance of the collections of museums, libraries, and archives that were moved to remote locations elsewhere in the UK mirrors this concept of removing what is deemed high-priority from high risk zones. Approaching the Mansion across the lawn The top secret nature of what went on at Bletchley Park during the war echoes how the stores of collections were kept secret so as to increase their safety in case of invasion. The Library and Archives at...

British Museum Archives

Entrance to the British Museum On a drizzly Tuesday morning we made our way to The British Museum where we were met by Archivist, Francesca Hillier. She gave us a very in-depth tour of a space that has not be open to the public for quite some time. Due to its standing as an historical building, no alterations can be made, therefore Ms. Hillier and her staff are focussed on working with the space in the most efficient and practical way possible. Shelves, desks, lighting, etc. must all remain as they are which may be somewhat frustrating but some aspects that must remain are really special. For example, there are hidden doorways disguised as books shelves as the entrance to stairs to get from the lower to upper level! Inside the British Museum Library and Archives which is closed to the public Fun Fact: The British Museum used to house The British Library before the 1990s. Recently, Ms. Hillier discovered mold in the lower levels of the storerooms of the archives so there...

Rovings and Ramblings of V

Search This Blog