DAY 2: Protocol Harmonisation & Action Planning

Focus: Building consensus on shared workflows (ENDS AT LUNCH)

09:00–10:00 | Session 5: From Sample to Shared Data — The Full Journey

Setting the frame for everyone in the room

20 min: Walkthrough — what actually happens to a sample?

• How a conservator collects a sample (eraser rub or fibre) and what gets recorded at that moment

• How the sample moves through the lab: heat denaturation → digestion → spotting

• What the data looks like at the end, and who can access it

20 min: Metadata standards — the connective tissue between collection and use

• What information must be captured at the point of sampling for the data to be interpretable later

• Catalogue → JSON → barcoding → AirTable: how the tracking pipeline works

• What happens when metadata is missing or inconsistent (real examples)

20 min: Discussion — what do users actually need from the data?

• What questions are historians, conservators, and archivists trying to answer?

• What format and level of detail make results usable outside the lab?

• How should results be shared with the institutions that provided the samples?

10:15 Coffee Arrives

10:45–11:45 | Session 6: Technical Integration Workshop

Working session: hands-on protocol development

40 min: Parallel working groups

• Station A: Sampling & Collection Protocols 

  • What conservators need to record at the point of collection

  • Fibre vs. eraser rub: standardising the comparative test

  • PVC vs. PVC-free eraser: conservation implications and practical differences

• Station B: Sample Preparation & Analytical Workflow 

  • The lab pipeline in plain language: decisions that affect what questions can be answered

  • DNA vs. protein allocation: how sampling choices downstream affect results

  • Enzyme selection and digestion parameters (scientists only, others rotate quickly)

• Station C: Data Logging, Tracking & Long-term Storage 

  • Defining required metadata fields across all institutions

  • Barcoding → AirTable → image linking in practice

  • Long-term data storage and accessibility (parquet format, repositories)

20 min: Report back — each group presents 1–2 key decisions or unresolved questions

11:45–12:30 | Session 7: Action Planning & Next Steps

15 min: Assign responsibilities

• Metadata standards lead — defining and documenting required fields

• Protocol documentation leads per analytical stream

• Data audit coordinators (existing Beasts2craft materials)

• Point person for data return to contributing institutions

15 min: Communication plan

• How the results will be shared back to conservators and archivists

• Shared Google Drive structure and access

• Next meeting timeline

10 min: Outstanding questions & parking lot items

5 min: Closing remarks and group photo

12:30 | Meeting Concludes 

Homerton College

Homerton College is situated on Hills Road just outside the city centre between the main railway station and Addenbrookes Hospital. All visitors arriving at the College should report to the Porters' Lodge, located in the Mary Allan Building.

Directions

By road

• from London: Follow directions to Cambridge along the M11. At Junction 11 take the A1309 into Cambridge. At the second set of major traffic lights, ignoring all pedestrian lights, keep in the right-hand lane and turn right into Long Road (signposted to Addenbrooke's Hospital). Continue to next main crossroads. Turn left into Hills Road and Homerton College is approximately half a mile on the left-hand side.

• from the North: Follow directions to the A1 south and follow the A1 and A1(M) until it joins the A14. Take the A14 as far as the M11, and then take the M11 to Junction 11 and follow the A1309 into Cambridge. At the second set of major traffic lights, ignoring all pedestrian lights, keep in the right hand lane and turn right into Long Road (signposted to Addenbrooke's Hospital). Continue to next main crossroads. Turn left into Hills Road and Homerton College is approximately half a mile on the left-hand side.

Parking

For short-term parking

Park in the main entrance car park and report to the Porters' Lodge for a temporary parking permit.

For conference visitors and long-term parking

Please enter the College via Harrison Drive, 100 yards from the main entrance, and continue to the end of this road where you will find the visitors' car park on the left-hand side.

By train

Homerton College is conveniently located for travel by train - it is only a 15 minute walk from Cambridge's main station. There are regular trains to London King's Cross (approximate journey time 50 minutes) and London Liverpool Street (approximate journey time 1 hour 15 minutes). There are also good connections from Peterborough, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

National Rail Enquiries website.

By air

The airport closest to Cambridge is Stansted, from which there are good train and taxi connections to the city.

Maps

Getting to Cambridge

Getting to Homerton

Map of Homerton College Grounds

Check in

Check-in time is at the porter's lodge from 2 pm onwards, and check-out time is by 9am on the day of departure.