Arkhênum brings its heritage expertise to Ethiopia

Experts from Arkhênum, a MEMORIST company, have just finished work on the Sustainable Lalibela project in Ethiopia. Led by the CNRS and executed by the French Center for Ethiopian Studies, this project formed part of a Franco-Ethiopian plan to restore, conserve and enhance the Lalibela archaeological site.

Sustainable Lalibela: 5 areas of intervention

The project’s primary objective was to preserve and enhance the site. As such, it included a major archaeological component, but there was also a heritage preservation component that included the creation of a digital heritage resource centre. It was for this component that Arkhênum’s expertise was required. 

Establishing an autonomous heritage digitisation workshop and training local staff to manage the digitisation process was an important step in the preservation of Lalibela’s documentary collections. There are 200 manuscripts preserved in the 11 churches, but they are not accessible to the public.

Setting up a digitisation workshop

The Arkhênum team first conducted an audit to define the requirements of the digitisation workshop to be set up on site: types of scanners, digitisation accessories, software, etc. 

The various components were then delivered to the Lalibela site which is located in the heart of the Ethiopian highlands, 400km from the capital Addis Ababa. 

Project manager Lisa then set up the digitisation workshop in the presence of the local trainees.

2 weeks of intensive training

The training brought together 15 participants made up of local clergy, staff from the Lalibela cultural centre and the Lalibela museum. 

Conducted in English and Amharic, it equipped the learners with the skills to ensure that the site’s preservation continues long after the Arkhênum team has returned to France.

The theoretical training covered:

• How to complete an inventory file after digitisation
• How to analyse a collection for digitisation (status report, feasibility)
• The practice of digitisation and points of vigilance
• The generation of deliverables (file layout and organisation)
• Metadata management

Our Project Manager Lisa reflects on this experience.

Every page turned is an archived story

Talent Story No. 1

“Arkhênum has always been a part of my personal and professional life.”

Laurent Onaïnty, Arkhênum’s current managing director, has known the company since its earliest days. An expert on the firm and the heritage sector, Laurent has spent most of his career at Arkhênum.

A thirst for history

While Laurent was rounding off five years studying history (specialising in archival work), he had to bring his studies to a close with an internship in 1999. And this was when Laurent first met Christian Chabrier, one of Arkhênum’s founders. Once the internship came to an end, Laurent soon became Arkhênum’s first employee in the role of operator. This permanent position helped him become proficient in the techniques of digitisation.

Scanners were still rudimentary at the time: they were also slow and only generated black-and-white images. And yet, as the current managing director explains, the machines never damaged the documents. Curators needed convincing that digitisation wouldn’t ruin their records through continuous exposure to light. “But it was when information technology finally started to be used in this cultural sector that our clients began to get frightened”, he says with hindsight! Their profession has now been revolutionised from top to bottom.

Educating heritage experts in every city

Laurent, who has seen digital technology and its uses metamorphose over the years, was soon promoted to the role of project manager to tackle the growing number of projects. In 2005, Laurent began to change tack, heading for Toulouse and a new job where he would be in direct contact with clients as a salesperson. At the time, Laurent responded to the needs of cultural institutions looking for advice about heritage digitisation and related services. He secured the loyalty of new clients for a decade or so in the south of France.

Spearheading a team of enthusiasts

It was the right time in 2016 for Arkhênum to become part of the MOBILITAS Group, which gave the company a window onto the world. MOBILITAS appointed Laurent managing director thanks to his knowledge of the company and the industry, not to mention his experience. “It was a dream come true,” he says now, “and like being thrown in at the deep end”. He set himself the goal of building on the energy of the company and its partners to give it a new, more diversified approach.

“My current job involves deciding on the direction we’re going to take in the years ahead, putting it into practice on a day-to-day basis, and sizing up the opportunities and risks. In short, it’s about setting development priorities that are always ambitious, but also realistic. A real rallying cry!”
By adopting this approach, Arkhênum was able to diversify successfully in the private sector (with the creation of the heritage business) and on the international stage (setting up in Switzerland and Germany).
Building a structured team and mutual trust has been vital to achieve these goals.

Proud of our achievements and living up to our name

“My enthusiasm for the job in this firm, which creates employee loyalty particularly well, is primarily down to the relationship we can have with the documents we process.” Among Arkhênum’s most recent large-scale projects, Laurent thinks back to the 2020 contract signed with the Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI) in France. The project was interesting for its own sake as it involved digitising the archives of experts in authenticating works of art. In addition, it meant that Arkhênum could carry on operating during the Covid pandemic while adhering to the necessary preventive measures.

Laurent also speaks fondly of the first major international project that the company won – with the UN – and digitising the archives of its ancestor, the League of Nations. “I’m proud of this shared adventure that introduced us to the ‘big league’ in the field of digitisation on the international stage. And we intend to carry on in the same way!”

Laurent sees Arkhênum as a shared adventure with employees who work together to help preserve heritage collections worldwide. It’s thanks to these teams that the firm has succeeded in building a global service based on preserving and promoting heritage. Arkhênum is handling more and more cases in France and internationally that require considerable technical expertise. These projects also have a genuine strategic dimension to them, particularly for private companies.

“Our job is also to respond to Arkhênum’s new rallying cry: Revealing the Past. Bringing people and things to light is in our profession’s DNA”, says Laurent. “We don’t just reveal an institution’s dormant heritage; we also shine a light on the individuals who make their way up our profession and become genuine talents”. Laurent concludes by adding: “Discovering or revealing your true self in a company, I hope that everyone has the same chance.” And Laurent knows what he’s talking about…

What motivates Laurent in his day-to-day work?

Every page turned is an archived story

Arkhênum signs deal with German Museum of Books and Writing

The German National Library turns to Arkhênum once more

Following a first project that saw Arkhênum’s German team produce around 2.5 million digital images for the German National Library (DNB) between 2021 and 2023, the team will now begin work for the German Book and Writing Museum in Leipzig.

Founded in 1884, the Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum is the oldest museum of its kind in the world. Housed in the DNB, the institution is devoted to collecting and conserving objects and documents relating to literature and books.

Selecting the best of the latest technology: heritage scanners

Adapting to each client’s specific needs is a challenge for Arkhênum’s staff – which is why our technical experts stay abreast of the latest technological developments.

As part of the project, and due to the inability of certain manuscripts to open a full 180°,  our experts will use the latest generation of heritage scanners, capable of digitising at a 45° angle.

The project will require no fewer than six heritage scanners of four different types to meet the museum’s specific requirements.

Scanning is scheduled to start in the summer of 2023 and will last for two years, with the option to extend for a further two years.

Every page turned is an archived story

7 MARCH 2023

Musée Maritime de La Rochelle safeguards its watercolour collections

Arkhênum’s mission: digitally preserving Maritime Museum’s heritage collection

With its heritage fleet and range of exhibition spaces, the Musée Maritime de La Rochelle immerses visitors in the region’s exciting maritime history. The onshore exhibition features small pleasure boats, maritime objects and models. A collection of watercolours will be added to the museum’s archives for long-term preservation.

The Museum commissioned Arkhênum to physically and digitally preserve its collection. Our specialists carried out preliminary work to remove the watercolours from their frames.

Repacking the collections in paper pouches and PH neutral boxes will guarantee their long-term conservation. The Arkhênum team will be responsible for identifying documents and recording the inventory numbers on the packaging.

Operators will digitally safeguard the watercolours. Creating these digital duplicates will not only ensure the long-term preservation of these collections but will also open opportunities for new media, particularly digital media.

Arkhênum will provide its global expertise across the entire project, from gathering customer requirements and analysing documents to digitising heritage documents. 

Ready to bring your project into the digital age? Contact us today.

Every page turned is an archived story

10 JANUARY 2023

And then there were three… the Austrian National Library

Austrian National Library: Vision 2025

The library’s Vision 2025 project aims to make a significant portion of this inventory available to the public digitally by 2025.

The digitisation is led by the National Library’s Iconography Department, known as Bildarchiv.

Every page turned is an archived story

11 OCTOBER 2022

Arkhênum heads for the Cape

The operation focused on a collection of architectural drawings by the English architect Herbert Baker.

The drawings suffered severe damage as a result of dust and smoke deposits. After a thorough assessment, La Reliure du Limousin and Arkhênum proposed joining forces to restore and subsequently digitise the drawings, and the university selected both companies for the task.

Exhaustive digitisation guaranteed

Both the restoration and digitisation phases were carried out on site at the university, with coordinated efforts to ensure smooth operations. This guaranteed that all drawings would be digitised and have optimal readability, thanks to the preliminary work carried out.

The university benefitted from a speedy service with a single point of contact in the person of a project manager who oversaw the entire service.

A team of eight professionals diligently restored and digitised the collection, marking a significant collaboration between French experts and local South African personnel. This type of collaboration will certainly grow in popularity, both in France and abroad.

Every page turned is an archived story