Honoured to be 'the most dedicated Labber'

It can be pretty hard working on your own most of the time – unsure if what you’re doing is of any value or use. As I said in my keynote at the GLAM Labs Futures conference in Edinburgh recently:

the first half of last year was pretty bleak, and left me wondering whether I should just walk away from all of it ­– go bushwalking, catch up on gardening, perhaps just be a historian again.

So I was grateful for the opportunity to go to Edinburgh, find out what was happening in GLAM Labs around the world, connect with people I’d only met online, and rebuild my energy and enthusiasm.

What I didn’t expect was to be given a special award for being ‘the most dedicated Labber’!

The full text of the award reads:

We are thrilled to acknowledge and honour the incredible contributions of Dr. Tim Sherratt.

For many years, Tim has been a true pioneer, operating as a visionary ‘one-person lab.’ His GLAM Workbench Is an extraordinary repository of tools, tweaks, and thoughtful walkthroughs. It has served as sheer inspiration for anyone engaging in computational experiments with GLAM collections.

This award is a testament to his immense generosity in sharing his knowledge and skills, and for always championing the spirit of ‘good hacking!’

The award itself was hand-crafted in suitably experimental fashion by Olga Holownia.

It even glows in the dark! Olga assures me it’s only slightly poisonous.

After a difficult couple of years it means a lot to be recognised by my international peers in this way, and reminds me that I’m never really working alone.