Exhibition Team
Petra Hofmann
As College Librarian I’m responsible for the overall running of the Library and its future development. Making the College’s diverse manuscript collection digitally more accessible has been a major strategic aim for us. We have now reached a first significant milestone in publishing formal and informal online metadata and the digitization of the Library’s most significant volumes, made available for free to a global audience of students, academics, and interested members of the public. Now that the various threads of the project are coming together, this exhibition is the first step in promoting the project, collecting feedback, and thinking more about how this wealth of information can be used for supporting the teaching, research, and outreach at St John’s College.
Adam Hexley
As Library Assistant, my role is partly focussed around ensuring the library runs as smoothly as possible for the readers present. However, I am also responsible for assisting with the library’s special collections in a variety of ways, such as running special collections appointments and directing the library’s Twitter account. In terms of the digitisation project, I have been responsible for curating this exhibit with my colleagues on the digitisation team – I really hope you find it enlightening and informative!
Sophie Bacchus-Waterman
As Special Collections Photographer on the Digitization Project, I am responsible for the imaging phase of the project. Using our PhaseOne camera, Grazer Conservation Cradle, wall-mounted Canon 5DS camera, and flatbed, I am capturing high-quality images of a shortlist of ninety items comprised of manuscripts, early printed books, and other 2D items within our renowned collection. This exhibition gives us a chance to showcase how the project is progressing so far, and how far digitization has come since St John’s College was involved in the Early Manuscripts at Oxford project in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Sian Witherden
As Resource Description Librarian, my role focuses on converting, publishing, and promoting online descriptions of the manuscripts in St John’s College Library. This includes adding catalogue entries to Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries and ArchivesHub, as well as developing and updating the Digital Library. I also complete pre-digitization assessments, checking that manuscripts are in a suitable condition for imaging.