6.5 million herbarium sheets, turned from closed collection into a global research engine.
A productised heritage operating model for the world's most significant botanical archives. High-resolution capture, transcription of historical scripts, metadata indexing, and global scientific accessibility — end-to-end. Hand-signed Darwin sheets included.
6.5 million sheets digitised. Two centuries of botanical history made searchable for climate and biodiversity research worldwide.
- 6.5M+
- Specimen sheets digitised
- 200+ yrs
- Of botanical history made searchable
- Global
- Research access via Kew's digital portal
Challenge
The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew required a massive-scale digitisation effort to preserve fragile specimens while making their data searchable for global climate and botanical research. Centuries of handwritten scientific notations, minute botanical detail and complex provenance metadata had to survive the journey from physical sheet to queryable digital record.
Approach
SBL Infotech’s DAMS pipeline governs the full workflow: high-fidelity imaging of fragile specimen sheets, expert transcription of historical scripts, scientific validation of botanical metadata, and integration into Kew’s digital portal for worldwide researcher access. Specialised handling protocols protect specimens centuries old.
Outcome
What was once a closed collection of physical specimens is now a live, searchable engine for global environmental research and cultural preservation. The platform reduces physical handling of original specimens, surfaces lost history (including hand-signed Darwin sheets), and accelerates climate-change research by making historical plant data accessible to all.