Congratulations to our fabulous Life and Archival Collections teams! They’re a pretty friendly bunch, always keen to help researchers and enthusiasts, giving unrivalled access to their knowledge and their collections. This welcoming attitude has now been recognised by the organisation UK Butterflies, who have awarded them with an Outstanding Contribution Award.
This is the first time that the award has been given to an organisation, rather than an individual, which was apparently “in special recognition of the role that this team of committed individuals has played in helping bring the UK Butterflies website to a whole new level.”
Peter Eeles, who developed and runs the UK Butterflies website, has been visiting the Hope Entomological Collections (part of our Life Collections) for many years. He says that the staff have always been “encouraging, knowledgeable and welcoming” and have truly helped advance the mission statement of the organisation; Building a community of responsible butterfly enthusiasts.
James Hogan, from the Hope Collection, has worked closely with Peter and his colleagues and says;
“It’s a great honour to be recognised and it’s always a pleasure to welcome the UK Butterflies members.
“They’re always enthusiastic about what they do and I learn a huge amount about our collections, too. There’s no point having collections if no-one uses them!”
The Library and Archives, run by Kate Santry, has been vital in research into the history of entomology. Last year, Mark Colvin, a contributor to the website, used the collections to study the life and works of James Charles Dale. By combining diaries and photos from the Archives and specimens from the Life Collections, he built up a thorough report on the entomologists’ work. Peter interviewed Kate about her work back in December last year and put the interview onto the website.
Mark and Peter talked about the impressive ‘open door’ policy that the staff have, and this doesn’t just extend to entomologists. Kate is always very keen to point out that the Library is open to anyone who would like to visit. Just drop her an email on libary@oum.ox.ac.uk to arrange a good time to call in.
Thanks to Peter, Mark and all at UK Butterflies, for this exciting award – now to find the perfect spot to show it off!
Rachel Parle, Interpretation and Education Officer
More Than A Dodo 
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