On 1 and 2 November 2016, EMBL hosted a workshop on scientific archives which brought together 40 archivists from 8 countries to discuss how to best capture, preserve and share contemporary scientific material.

The sessions examined practical issues linked to cataloguing and making accessible collections whose content and origins are complex, the place of archivists in institutions and their relationship with scientists, and how archivists or their institutions can use archives for advocacy and outreach.

Programme

Session 1: Practical archiving

“The National Institute for Medical Research Archives Project” – Frank Norman, Francis Crick Institute, UK
“Once Upon a Time in the West: The experience of the National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists, Bath” – Tim Powell, The National Archives, UK
Postscript by Anne Barrett (Imperial College): “The Centre for Scientific Archives Update: Action in The UK STAG: Science and Technology Archives Group”
“Materiality, Decay and Overload” – Klaus Nippert, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Session 2: Acquiring collections – I

“Challenges in the implementation of an Information Management plan in EUMETSAT” – Kathryn Roswell and M. Eugenia Noheda, EUMETSAT, Germany
“Beyond the data: acquiring and preserving the personal archives of Canadian scientists” – Creighton Barrett, Dalhousie University, Canada
“Making Oral Histories of Science Accessible to Diverse Audiences” – Sally Horrocks, University of Leicester/National Life Stories, UK

Session 3: Acquiring collections – II

Introduction to EMBL and the EMBL Archive – Iain Mattaj and Anne-Flore Laloë, EMBL, Germany
“Building subject collections in the molecular biology field and disseminating knowledge” – Ludmila Pollock, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA
“Finding the Best of Both Worlds: Bridging Research and Archives at ETH Zürich” – Marion Wullschleger and Ana Sesatic, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Session 4: Keynote lectures

Jenny Shaw, Wellcome Trust, UK
Giulio Superti-Furga, CeMM, Austria

Session 5: Roundtable discussion with scientists

Matthias Hentze, EMBL, Germany
Theodore Alexandrov, EMBL, Germany
Nick Goldman, EMBL-EBI, UK

Session 6: Engagement and outreach

“Advocacy and Archival Value” – Melanie Mueller, American Institute of Physics, USA
“In two minds about outreach” – Anita Hollier, CERN, Switzerland
“Collaboration and cloned sheep: engaging with animal genetics archives” – Clare Button, University of Edinburgh, UK