Vision and Strategy of Cambridge University Library Research Institute

Cambridge University Library Research Institute Vision and Strategy

Mission

The UK’s research landscape has changed, and with it the role of research libraries. Research has become more collaborative and interdisciplinary, reaching beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplines and recognising the contributions of a wider range of professionals. As a beacon of good practice in a diverse community of thinkers and researchers, the mission of the Cambridge University Library Research Institute is to enhance international scholarship by connecting people and collections.

Vision

Cambridge University Library Research Institute will be a vibrant, inclusive community of researchers and practitioners at all career stages working together to make a difference to culture and society. It will harness the breadth and depth of our world-leading expertise, collections and infrastructure to nurture national and international research projects and networks.

Through innovation and partnerships, we will collaborate with institutions locally, nationally and internationally to set the agenda for collections-led research, generating opportunities across and beyond disciplines.

Core values

Our core values and those of our partners are grounded in open, collaborative and ethical research for the advancement of knowledge and the public good. In line with the principles of ‘responsible research and innovation’, we strive to be:

Ethical and to abide by our social and cultural responsibilities to people, collections and the environment
Open, sustainable and accessible to all
Inclusive and free of discrimination

We are fully supportive of the Research Development Concordat, the Technician Commitment and the Declaration on Open Research Assessment (DORA).

Where are we now?

Strong foundations

The Research Institute builds on strong foundations. Cambridge University Library (CUL) has an outstanding track record of research through the long-standing Sandars Readership in Bibliography (founded 1895), Darwin Correspondence Project (1972), Genizah Research Unit (1974) and the Munby Fellowship in Bibliography (1977). CUL also has an established history of collections-based research partnerships with academics across Cambridge and externally.

Library staff are research active and experts in their fields, highly valued for their skills, knowledge and willingness to collaborate. They lead research projects, author and co-author research publications and contribute to other types of research outputs, including exhibitions, catalogues, digitised collections and datasets. They act as principal and co-investigators, research technical professionals, project partners, advisory board members and doctoral supervisors. They contribute to the assessment of research through peer reviewing funding applications, reviewing and editing publications, and to research culture through their leadership and support for open research.

Collections and infrastructure

These foundations are strengthened by our world-leading collections and infrastructure. We hold over 10 million physical collection items. CUL’s Special Collections comprise one of the world’s great collections of global documentary cultural heritage collected over six centuries and spanning some four thousand years of recorded thought. They encompass archives, manuscripts, photographs, rare printed books, and maps and music in both manuscript and print. In 2020, they were awarded Designated status as an outstanding collection by the Arts Council England based on their quality and significance, and are a unique and distinctive resource for research.

Our physical collection is growing at a rate of over 100,000 items a year through an active programme of purchase and donation, together with our status as one of the UK’s six legal deposit libraries. And with our born-digital and digitised collections growing rapidly as well, we are ideally placed to set the agenda for collections-led research.

Our infrastructure and people combine to both enable and contribute to research. As a national research library, we are a key part of the UK’s research infrastructure. The iDiscover and ArchiveSearch catalogues make our collections discoverable both individually and at scale, while our research repository, Apollo, provides a secure home for research outputs and datasets. Expert conservators ensure our physical collections can be made available both now and in the future and contribute specialist expertise to research partnerships. Meanwhile our digital preservation programme secures the long-term availability of born digital and digitised collections.

Our Cultural Heritage Imaging Laboratory houses a suite of cutting-edge specialist photographic and heritage science equipment. A dedicated team of imaging specialists digitise collections and use advanced imaging techniques to investigate research questions. Frequently an output of collaborative research activities, our digitised collections are made available on the Cambridge Digital Library (CUDL), with content released under creative commons licences wherever possible to facilitate access and reuse. The underlying software is open source and continues to be developed as the Cambridge Digital Collections platform. It also underpins ongoing collaborations with the University of Manchester and Lancaster University, creating a sustainable infrastructure for digital access to collections.

CUL Reading Room © Alice the Camera / Cambridge University Library

Margaret Thatcher puppet from the Spitting Image collection © Cambridge University Library

10th-century Jewish poetry manuscript, once viewed with Multispectral imaging uncovers Origen’s Hexapla, which is among the earliest manuscripts in the Genizah from around 7th century CE, T-S 12.182 © Cambridge University Library

Cultural Heritage Imaging Laboratory in process of photographing Charles Darwin's microscope to create 3D model © Cambridge University Library

Excellent research

CUL is currently active in over thirty research projects, on topics ranging from medieval medical recipes to collecting the scientific record of Covid-19, and in roles ranging from principal investigator to project partner.

These are supported by national and international funders, involve partners from around the globe, and draw on the diverse skills of staff from across CUL. We continue to build this portfolio, with further applications in preparation, and a growing number of opportunities for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, such as the Oschinsky Research Associateship in Medieval Studies, established in 2021.

Browse our research project portfolio or click on the images below, to see some of the current projects we are involved with.

Curious Cures in Cambridge Libraries

Documenting the role of UK science in the Covid-19 pandemic

Photograph from RCS Collections of figure in front of a mountain road in South Africa

Creating new connections: shared digital curation of the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) southern African collections at Cambridge University Library

The Cambridge Heritage Science Hub

A trusted collaborator

We believe that collaboration produces results that are more than the sum of their parts. We are a trusted collaborator both within the University of Cambridge and further afield. Within the University, we support and develop collections-based digital humanities scholarship in close alliance with Cambridge Digital Humanities (CDH). We also work particularly closely with the Schools of Arts and Humanities and Humanities and Social Sciences and the Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH).

We are proud to be part of the Cambridge Heritage Science Hub (CHERISH), a partnership with the Department of Archaeology, Fitzwilliam Museum, Hamilton Kerr Institute and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. We are also a partner with Cambridge University Museums in the Collections, Connections, Communities Strategic Research Initiative. And we are nurturing collaborations beyond the arts, humanities and social sciences through equipment sharing and joint project proposals with the Medical Faculty, and the Departments of Engineering, and Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

Graphic of CHERISH partnerships by Raffaella Losito

Graphic of CHERISH partnerships by Raffaella Losito

Outward-looking

We are continually looking outwards, with a range of active national and international research partnerships leading to new disciplinary insights and mutually beneficial skills sharing and outreach activities. Recent UK HEI partners include Anglia Ruskin University, King’s College London, Northumbria University, Queen Mary University of London, SOAS University of London, University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, University of Durham, University of Edinburgh, University of Exeter, University of Glasgow, University of Huddersfield, University of Lancaster, University of Leeds, University of Manchester, University of Nottingham and the University of Oxford. UK-based non-HEI partners included the National Archives, National Library of Scotland, Royal Museums Greenwich, Wellcome Collection and the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc). International partners included the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Heidelberg University, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Trinity College Dublin, University of Fribourg, University of Mainz, University of Münster and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Where do we want to go?

We want to put our world-leading collections and expert staff at the forefront of our activities to enhance our research capacity and profile. We are driven by three key concepts:

Discovery

Generating new knowledge about our collections, to deepen understanding of their context and significance.
Exploring the diversity of our collections, including those which are little-known or under-researched.
Making it easier for people to find and use our material, and to share their research with us, closing the loop and enhancing discovery for future users.

Synergy

Nurturing and developing meaningful interactions and cooperation to move beyond the boundaries of discipline, collection and institution.
Building new frameworks and methodologies for research.
Recognising and supporting the contributions of a diverse body of researchers, including library staff, research technical professionals and independent scholars.

Encounters

Adopting a human-centred approach, connecting people with collections and collections with people for the benefit of society.
Developing sustainable engagement with communities with integrity, openness and respect.
Contributing to public understanding of the significance of our shared cultural heritage.

How do we get there?

The work of the Research Institute will have three overarching strands:

World-leading research

Setting the agenda for collections-led research by:

Identifying research themes in alignment with University, wider cultural heritage sector and societal priorities including arts, humanities and science; materiality; and global connections.
Nurturing research ideas by supporting project scoping and the development of competitive funding applications.
Delivering a coordinated programme of research projects of different scopes and scales.
Generating research income to enable the Research Institute to be a long-term, sustainable hub for collections-led research.

Research culture

Creating a vibrant and sustainable research environment by:

Evolving our governance and processes so that individuals are empowered to carry out research, irrespective of background or career path.
A transparent approach to the funding and sustainability of the Research Institute.
An advisory board, reporting to CUL’s Leadership Team via the existing Research Strategy Committee and the Deputy Director for Research Collections.
Promoting good research practice by embedding the principles of open research at all stages of the research lifecycle.
Building a flexible and sustainable digital infrastructure for cutting-edge research outputs, in partnership with other stakeholders.
Increasing research capacity by supporting more library staff to be research active and enhancing our offering for postgraduate, early career and established researchers.

Research communities

Developing our research communities and audiences by:

Creating a physical and online space for the Research Institute.
Communicating what we are doing to internal and external audiences.
Engaging with new and existing networks to nurture connections and synergies and attract new partners.
Building our programme of knowledge exchange and outreach activities.
Breaking down the boundaries between practitioners and audiences, to create new insights into our collections and connect with new communities.

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