Research project IM/RT/23/H-SEARCH (Research action IM)
Ever since the very foundation of KIK/IRPA in 1948, a vast number of heritage objects have been studied, conserved or restored by its experts. These interventions are documented in intervention dossiers, that are stored on paper and/or in digital form. These scientific archives are currently stored as-is: there is a large spread in the quality, extensiveness and state of conservation between the intervention dossiers. The archive can be consulted by specialists and members of the broad public, either directly or through E-RIHS ARCHLAB. However, one needs to apply beforehand, allowing the archivists to verify the requested intervention dossiers and remove sensitive and privacy-related information that should not be made public.
A more robust archival strategy needs to be developed to safeguard the scientific archives and will put it at the service of science. The value of BALaT and the archives have recently been highlighted during the 2021 floodings in Belgium and the subsequent damage to tangible heritage. H-SEARCH’s focus is twofold. On the one hand, infrastructure and procedures will be set out for long-term archival and preservation of the scientific archives, maximising the use of an established archive management solution and Belspo’s LTP platform. On the other hand, H-SEARCH aims to make the archives consultable online according to the FAIR principles. To achieve this goal, H-SEARCH will build on top of KIK/IRPA’s new knowledge platform BALaT (under development). In the proposed project, BALaT will be further extended with full-text multilingual search capabilities that searches within the archived documents.
During the project, a number of closed intervention dossiers will be selected based on the heritage value of the objects and the quality and scientific value of the existing data. The selection criteria will take into account existing lists of valuable heritage objects as defined by the regions and communities in Belgium. Furthermore, the selection will include important dossiers in which the studios and labs of paintings, polychrome wood sculpture, stone sculpture and textiles were involved. The selection will form the basis of an enhanced archive service, integrated in BALaT. Besides the steady flow of new intervention dossiers, more older intervention dossiers can be archived as well, depending on demand and requirements.
