Earlier this month, Eman Shahin and Alice Lubbock from the CBRL Archives team joined colleagues from other BIRI archive teams at the British School at Rome (BSR) for a week-long gathering.
Dr Richard Gartner, Digital Librarian at University College London, led a workshop about the use of ontologies in organising archival data. The group explored how ontology provides a formal, machine-readable representation of conceptualisation, offering a structured way to define ‘classes’ of data and the relationships between them.
The BIRI archivists developed several sample ontologies together, including one mapping correspondence to and from Colin Hardie, Director of the BSR (1933–36). This exercise demonstrated how relationships among people, institutions, and records can be modelled in a meaningful, research-oriented way.
The week also included a session on Omeka S for virtual exhibitions, delivered by Emme.Bi.Soft Co., in which strategies for building structured, interoperable online exhibitions were introduced. These discussions were particularly valuable as digital outputs continue to be developed within the BIRI Digital Strategy & Coordination project.
A key highlight of the week was the opportunity for BIRI colleagues to meet in person, many of whom usually collaborate online throughout the year. Ideas were exchanged, progress was reviewed, and the next steps planned to finalise the two StoryMaps developed over the past year, with support from BIRI project coordinators, including Jessica Holland and Eleanor Careless.
Raphaële Mouren, Head of Research Collections, and Alessandra Giovenco, Archivist, took the BIRI archivists through the history, library, and archives of the British School at Rome (BSR), and introduced them to the collections and archival spaces.
The BIRI Archivists stayed in the BSR residence alongside visiting academics, students, and artists in residence and shared meals together in the large dining room. This became a daily moment of exchange and conversation across disciplines.
Outside the programme, participants took the opportunity to explore some of Rome’s iconic landmarks, including the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the vibrant neighbourhood of Trastevere. the week was both a professionally enriching and a culturally memorable one.
The gathering gave renewed momentum for collaboration across the BIRI archives network and strengthened shared approaches to digital strategy, archival interoperability, and long-term access planning.
