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Back to Case Studies UK Botanical Garden Digitisation Project
CSUK botanical archive initiative

UK Botanical Garden Digitisation Project

6.5+ million botanical specimen sheets digitised for global scientific research and preservation. The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew required a scalable heritage digitisation model capable of preserving centuries-old botanical collections while making them globally searchable for climate research, taxonomy and historical analysis. Fragile specimen sheets, handwritten scientific records and massive archival volumes made traditional digitisation methods impractical at scale.

"Large-scale heritage digitisation preserved botanical archives, enabled global scientific research access and transformed fragile historical collections into searchable digital intelligence. "

Industry
Geneology & Historic Research
Service
Intelligent Document Processing
UK Botanical Garden Digitisation Project
6.5M+
Botanical specimen sheets digitised
200+ years
Of archival botanical history preserved
Global
Research accessibility enabled

Challenge

The project involved digitising and indexing one of the world’s most significant botanical archives while protecting fragile historical specimens from physical degradation. Complex handwritten annotations, scientific notations and aged archival records required specialist transcription capabilities, while standard imaging systems lacked the precision needed to capture delicate botanical details without damaging source materials.

Approach

SBL Infotech deployed DAMS — its Digital Archives Management System — to govern the complete heritage digitisation workflow from specimen intake through imaging, transcription, metadata indexing and digital distribution. Specialized handling protocols were established for fragile herbarium sheets, including historically significant collections containing hand-signed specimens associated with Charles Darwin. High-resolution imaging workflows were combined with expert transcription of handwritten botanical labels and scientific metadata. Multi-level quality validation ensured botanical accuracy, archival integrity and searchable metadata consistency across millions of records before integration into Kew’s global digital research platforms.

Outcome

The project transformed a historically constrained physical archive into a globally accessible botanical intelligence platform supporting environmental research, taxonomy studies and cultural preservation initiatives worldwide. Researchers gained searchable digital access to centuries of botanical data without risking physical deterioration of original specimens. The engagement established a repeatable heritage digitisation operating model capable of scaling across museums, herbaria and scientific archives globally — preserving irreplaceable collections while accelerating scientific discovery and cross-border research collaboration.
IX Case studies

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