Hi there!

Every day of the year, IK’s servers run at full tilt to serve all our visitors to our website and digital resources. Of course, visitors all have different reasons for clicking in, but no matter what their interests are, it should be a safe and interesting visit that gives something back – knowledge, inspiration, participation, or something you order in the form of books, photographs, etc. With this and a high ambition to offer digital services freely, IK is responsible for both being as technically up to date as possible and offering an easy-to-understand design for what we publish.

As previously mentioned in this space, the work to update IK’s digital world has begun. In recent months, we have completed 99% of the extensive digital component of The IK Workshop Society, a site that has been visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world since its inception in 2012. The groundbreaking update (what we call IK v.4) has included the following:

• A more modern and wider design.
• Better, more readable fonts: the Swiss-made Suisse Intl.
• Simplified navigation across digital services, pages and divisions in the IKWS.
• All iBooks collected on the same resource page, with simplified access.
• All other ”i„ services such as maps, indexes, facts, magazine, etc. have been made more transparent and easier to use.
• Better visibility of all ongoing iProjects.
• Inactive/older iProjects and digital resources are now gathered in a special “Time Capsule”, where they remain readable.
• A brand new explanatory FAQ section – which will be expanded with video tutorials, etc.
• And much more…

We have chosen The IK Workshop Society site to be a static website, which in the next step will be more integrated with the already dynamic Books & Art website and with the upcoming comprehensive update of IK's main and welcome site, as well as the site for The Field Station Lab. Both approaches have their advantages, depending on the content and how it is to be used.

In the background, a modernisation of IK's entire digital server system and internal digital infrastructure has also begun. As a European organisation, we primarily use digital services in Europe due to a modern approach to security, privacy rules and environmental concerns. For example, Swiss Infomaniak and their ethical cloud have long been partners of IK, as have the Dutch payment system Mollie and the crowdfunding system WhyDonate.

The update work for IK v.4 is planned to be fully completed during the turn of the year 2026/2027. Until then, virtually all digital services will work, though they may be intermittently disconnected. In 2027, new project work will begin, from The Field Station Lab, fieldwork, publications, to new iBooks.

Like everything else IK does, we can only rely on high quality and long-term commitment in our products – research, publications, field stations, digital free services, etc. – to finance what we do. As a not-for-profit, public-service-oriented organisation, external funding is important. We hope for continued good cooperation with old and new interested parties in philanthropy, crowdfunding and scientific funding.

WHY NOT HELP DIRECTLY with the final 18% to make the unique monograph SPITSBERGEN Science Expeditions also freely available as an iBook and a resource about the Arctic? The crowdfunding campaign has been extended to enable us to realise this. If you have the opportunity to donate as a private individual, organisation, or grant foundation, we welcome donations of any size to this campaign to help make it possible for more people to learn about the Arctic.

CHECK OUT HOW TO DONATE >>>

EXPLORE the updated IK Workshop Society site >>>