Leading UK universities have signed on to digitise previously uncatalogued scientific archive materials on Wiley Digital Archive platform.

Jisc and publisher John Wiley and Sons Inc. expand their partnership with leading UK universities and the British Science Association (BSA) with the creation of a new digital collection: the British Association for the Advancement of Science – Collections on the History of Science (1830s-1970s).

The newly-formed collection will be hosted on the Wiley Digital Archives platform which uses leading technology to transform centuries-old, primary source content into clear, crisp, searchable documents and allows researchers to find, group, translate, download, manipulate and share historical materials globally.

Materials included in this new digital resource feature some of Darwin’s contributions to the science of evolution, notes from English scientist and astronomer Joseph Norman Lockyer on the discovery of the gas helium and the findings of Edward Jenner, an English physician and scientist who pioneered the smallpox vaccine, the world’s first ever vaccine. Upon its completion, the digital collection will comprise of one million pages.

Together with Jisc, Wiley has empowered Jisc-affiliated university libraries and archives to take part in the program by putting their collections forward for digitisation and offering access to the archive. Participating universities, whose content was selected on the recommendation of prominent academics in History of Science, include, the universities of Leicester, Glasgow, Oxford, Leeds, London and Liverpool, University College London, King’s College London, and the  British Science Association and Mathematical Association.

The Wiley Digital Archives program allows researchers and students to peer into the science of the past to create scholarship for the future. Tools that support virtual teaching, foster learning and power research are needed now more than ever.

Paola Marchionni, Jisc’s head of digital resources for teaching, learning and research,  says:

“We are delighted to have found a new way to give institutions the opportunity to open up their unique collections for the benefit of the academic community in a financially sustainable way. This innovative partnership is the first in the world to enable university libraries and archives to influence the content selection of a commercial product that is free to access to all UK members.”  

The Wiley Digital Archives program restores, digitises and catalogues the archives of some of the world’s most influential academic and scientific materials, connecting the brilliant minds of the past with the researchers shaping the future.

Jay Flynn, chief product officer of research, Wiley adds,

“The importance of giving academics access to research wherever they are in the world has become even more critical. Our partnership with Jisc continues to reflect the importance of collaboration to bring new solutions to our communities. We are thrilled to be pioneering a new business model for digitisation of special and archival collections.”

Jisc and Wiley continue their strong relationship to provide UK research and education institutions with freely available digitally archived content, expanding upon the announced open access partnership from February 2020.

To learn more about the History of Science collection please visit our Wiley Digital Archives website or register for a free webinar: old world science, new world science: 150 years of British history of science collections in the UK on 19 November at 15.00. 

In the UK, Jisc members and affiliates can sign up for the collection through the Jisc licence subscriptions manager.