The Mmmonk project is a collaborative initiative providing open access to over 700 medieval manuscripts from four dissolved abbeys, now dispersed across multiple libraries and archives. From its inception, Mmmonk has been grounded in broad cooperation and a structural engagement with diverse audiences. The project was initiated as a partnership between a public library (Bruges), a university library (Ghent), and two religious institutions (Ghent Diocese and the Major Seminary of Bruges), each bringing different strengths and perspectives. In line with the public mission of Bruges Public Library (project lead), Mmmonk is explicitly designed to serve multiple user groups, from toddlers to theologians. Both the technical infrastructure and content of the platform were developed in close collaboration with a wide range of contributors, such as scholars, the IIIF community, primary school teachers, collection managers, and young artists. The diverse forms of collaboration and public engagement were conceived not as an afterthought but as core elements of the project. The outcomes include:

• virtual exhibitions made by scholars from Ghent University, KU Leuven and Columbia University, as well as by their students, based on original research;
• learning scenarios co-created with primary school teachers;
• videos ‘Medieval Manuscripts Through Children’s Eyes’;
• in-depth dossiers written by collection managers, based on original research;
• a proof of concept for IIIF-based visualisation of annotations on complex materials, based on a needs survey of potential end-users, created as input for future developments by IIIF experts;
• a (physical) art exhibition and panel discussion by artists inspired by the manuscripts;
• the ongoing annual Mmmonk School webinars on medieval books, co-hosted by the Henri Pirenne Institute for Medieval Studies (Ghent University), reaching new and large audiences across the globe;
• the ongoing international workshops for end-users on the advantages of IIIF images.

An underlying goal of Mmmonk is to advance the use of IIIF and provide critical end-user input for further development by the tech community.

• The website was conceived as a practical example of the potential of IIIF and provides a replicable model for collection building initiatives.
• For the partner institutions, the project provided a testing ground to explore sustainable strategies for the long-term management of their manuscript collections.
• The end-users’ proof of concept for complex annotations was picked up by developers as input for further improvement of viewers and tools.
• The workshop on the use of IIIF images continues to support skills development among end-users.
• The project funded improvements to a virtual exhibition tool to allow visitors to interact with the materials (e.g., in the classroom).

Metadata and image aggregation through IIIF manifests provided the additional advantage of freeing up valuable time and resources for user mediation and participation.

The convergence of heritage professionals, researchers, teachers, developers and artists has been beneficial in many ways, generating a shared mission, high-quality and diverse content, open access collections, new networks, and sustained engagement. The presentation will also highlight the importance of strategically designed gateways to introduce new and broader audiences to the collections (“Come for the free webinars/workshops, stay for the rich datasets”).