BSU Archive Summer Module 2015

After a few weeks' break, some of our students have returned to university, giving up part of their summer vacation to complete an extra module. Ashley, Tom and Izzy are here for three weeks, preparing for a big event which is happening at the end of August.

I'll let them tell you more:

Ash:When we returned to the archive for the summer module  there were many items that required alterations to their catalogue entries. Before we left for the summer holidays a new system had been created which inserted another sub-level into the category of ‘BSU_2’ items - the institutional documents.

As the institutional documents comprised the largest section of our collection by far, it was decided that they needed to be divided up for the sake of organisation. Six groups were devised in order to sort out the collection; BSU_2_1 for Bath College of Domestic Science,  BSU_2_2  for Newton Park College, BSU_2_3 for Bath College of Education,  BSU_2_4 for Bath Spa University College and Bath Spa University and BSU_2_5 for Bath Academy of Art. Our aim for creating these sub-categories was to ensure that individual documents and items will become easier to locate.

What this meant was that all of the catalogue entries had to be printed out (in red ink due to a shortage of black!) for the edits to be made. Whilst doing this, it was felt that two birds should be killed with one stone and we simultaneously checked for errors and omissions in the catalogue and then corrected and completed them. The end process would be a catalogue sheet that had a fuller description of the item and an updated reference number. These catalogue sheets were then tucked into the boxes where their corresponding items with were kept with a pink sticky label, ready for the final step.

After the rough alterations were made on the printed catalogue sheets they then needed to be typed out on to the catalogue entries on Google Drive on which they are stored electronically. Once this had been completed, the pink sticky label would then be marked with a tick so we knew that the box was completed. Over the course of the first week, everything was edited both physically and electronically and has now been returned to the shelf. Its a long process, but satisfying when you see the end result. Its also helped us to find the items we need for the Alumni Reunion weekend, which Tom describes below.

Tom: The paramount event of our Summer Module will be the Bath Spa University Archive exhibition at the Alumni Reunion weekend. The alumni event will be bringing back numerous former students to the Newton Park Campus; the heart of the university. The Archive has been dedicated to the preservation of our history and has been steadily accumulating a wealth of documents and artefacts from the past institutions from which we grew.The alumni presents us with a unique opportunity to interact with the human elements of our history and we hope to trigger a few memories 

The "how" of our exhibition at the Alumni event is still in the creation process. It is important remember that the guest list includes students who graduated from 2014 all the way back to 1955, and that most of the guests would have studied in now defunct institutions such as the Bath College of Domestic Science, Bath College of Higher Education and  Bath Academy of Art, which have been amalgamated into a single institution over the decades. This presents us with the challenge of trying to make our exhibition relevant to a wide range of ages and experiences. 

So far, we have found photographs, prospectuses, paintings, newspaper cuttings and more from our collection of hundreds of catalogued items and documents. The emphasis for which items we shall display will revolve around student experience rather than administrative work, so our display can resonate with the former students. 

Finally, we have also got a leaflet for our exhibition under way, currently we have been acquiring resources electronically to use for it, So far we have acquired numerous antiquated photographs to be used to improve the aesthetic qualities of our leaflet. We intend to advertise the archive (in the hope that some ex-students might want to donate any of their old items to the Archive) as well as give a brief overview of the various previous institutions which are part of our history. Above all the leaflet is designed to advertise the archive and will be geared towards welcoming the former students into a trip down memory lane. 

Izzy: Aside from our primary focus of designing the exhibition, we were able to put into practice our archiving skills by cataloguing new items under the new system. Due to the excess number of items stored under the institution, it was necessary to introduce additional codes in order to differentiate each establishment involved. The team sorted through a number of portfolios and logged photographs and documents under their new allocated codes. These particular files included material relating to the institution; namely relating to the Domestic Science College.

 A personal collection was donated also donated to us; so Ashley, Kate and I carried out a ‘scoping exercise’ in order to gain an overview of what documents and information were included. They belonged to Professor Graham Davis as part of his research into Newton Park, and will eventually be stored in ‘Personal Collections’.

 For myself in particular, a new experience arose to suddenly be advised to be mindful of insects that could potentially harm various materials throughout the archive. We experienced first hand the damage imposed by an unidentified creature, and even came across a silverfish in one of the folders.

It’s been an interesting contrast to my previous archive experience, as I had not carried out any cataloguing tasks in the second year module. The planning involved with setting up the Alumni Reunion Weekend had been the most enjoyable element, especially when coming across names of those attending whilst going through archive material. Sorting through old photographs of students and institutions is personally my favourite aspect of working in the Bath Spa University Archive.

Izzy Watkins, Ash Catt, Tom Buckingham 

3rd Year History students

Heritage, Popes, Bones and stay-at-homes

Last week, the archive had a week off, as two of us were involved in a history field trip to Rome. Of course, the trip was arranged long before anyone knew about the papal elections, but what a time to be there...

The view towards the Vatican, from the Capitoline Hill, Rome

The main purpose of the trip was research: into aspects of heritage, the practical application of history and the history and landscape of the Grand Tour. All of these things are relevant to the cross section of students and staff who joined the field trip. And of course, we enjoyed the good food, wine and chatting that took place as well!

St Peter's, 11.03.13. Preparations for the pre-Conclave service.

Italy, and Rome in particular, houses a vast array of heritage from every era. Whether your interest lies in Roman, religious, Renaissance or Risorgimento history, there is a seemingly limitless supply of things to see, to experience and to wonder at.

Your archivist communes with Socrates!

We were struck by one site in particular, as a highly individual use of artefacts. This was the Capuchin Crypt, where an explanatory museum has been built over several small crypt rooms. These rooms contain thousands of bones, artistically and bizarrely arranged into pictures, images, altars, archways, chandeliers and ceiling displays. Complete skeletons in monk's habits stand and lie amidst the bones, overlooking the graves of real monks of the Capuchin Order.

The Capuchin Crypt

The whole thing is strange and intriguing, and a fascinating way to tell a story with archival resources. We pondered long and hard about the interpretation, and considered the way we look after archives today.

Meanwhile, following news of 'fumata nera' and 'fumata bianca' Pope Francis was elected and made his balcony appearance. Those studying the Grand Tour could identify with their 18th century counterparts, who travelled to Rome and witnessed the full grandeur of Catholicism for themselves, and were either impressed or distrustful, as the tourists from two hundred years ago had been.

A Nun celebrates Pope Francis' election with a selection of delicious  cakes! 

Back at home, the other half of the archive team carried on transcribing our most recent set of oral history interviews. We've had a batch of former Bath Academy of Art students visit the archive office recently, and we've enjoyed meeting them and finding out more about this fascinating aspect of our corporate history. As the office is based at Corsham Court, we have loved hearing about student life here in the 1950s - 1980s. It seems the peacocks have always been here, calling, screeching and chasing one another, just as they are today!

Hayley, still transcribing...

Scanning, scanning and more scanning

One of the great truths of the BSU Archive is that two of our main tasks are repetitive and time consuming. Scanning documents and transcribing oral history interviews take a very long time.

Yet for those of us involved, these tasks mean that you spend concentrated time with the real words of the past, with the pieces of paper and the recorded voices.

Here in the archive office, scanning occurs in a little corner of the corridor, which at this time of year is rather cold. We are beginning to suspect that in summer, it will be too hot. As is usual with forms of technology, the scanning process is simple, except when it isn't....knowledge of which button to press, in which order, is naturally important. But additionally useful is knowing which tone of voice to use to cajole the machine into cooperating. Or perhaps this is just paranoia...

Our relationship with the scanner is clearly getting too personal.

Documents come in all shapes and sizes, and making sure that the scans don't miss anything, is important. When looking at scanned papers online, I love to see the edges, and although you're a big step away from the real thing, a complete image gives a sense of it. Well-thumbed corners, damaged pages, finger prints and broken spines all add to the sensory experience of archives, even when witnessed remotely. A Historian friend recently posted a twitter image of a medieval manuscript, complete with the inky paw prints of the chronicler's cat - very atmospheric!

Next time you engage with a digital archive, spare a thought for the process which got it online. As well as time, funding, IT support and great documents, it has also been someone's task to stand by the machine, carefully feeding the papers one by one. Maybe their corner is chilly, too.

The opportunities for archive engagement have grown massively in the digital age. The ability to make so much more available online has opened a world of possibility. Especially for those researchers, who can access so much from their own homes. And once you're hooked on digital resources, stepping into a real one is another level of experience altogether.

But more of that, in another blog...

Hayley and Richard make friends with the scanner!

A morning with Professor Michael Pennie

One of the privileges of working on the BSU Archive is meeting a wide range of people, and hearing their stories and memories. Everyone we meet during our research has had a long, interesting and varied life, despite sometimes believing that the opposite is true. And everyone we talk to can illuminate the past for us, in a way that a historical document can never do.

Professor Michael Pennie

This week I have had the honour of meeting Professor Michael Pennie, who has observed artistic life here for half a century. First at Corsham Court in the 1960s, and then at Sion Hill in the 80s and 90s, and more recently back at Corsham Court, he has been teaching and practising the art of sculpture over five decades of change and development.

Michael talked to me about his work and about life at the Court during the Bath Academy of Art days. We also discussed his personal memoir of a life in art, which he is currently writing, and the possibility of adding this memoir to the BSU Archive when it is completed.

Michael's memoir, in preparation

This work, entitled 'Michael Pennie: Sculpture - Making and Teaching' takes the form of a treasure box of individual memories, written about his work, his exhibitions, former students and colleagues, all of which are gathered alongside rich images of artists and their work. Digital technologies also offer the potential for wider audience engagement, and this also formed part of our discussion today.

I was then taken to see Michael's studio in the basement of Corsham Court, where he described the discipline of daily creativity; even at the weekend he spends every morning in the studio, surrounded by his work and tools, drawings and sculptures. In fact his work is dotted all over Corsham Court, in public rooms, in the gallery, and in the grounds. I have walked past them many times, appreciating the art, without realising that the artist was in our midst.

The Basement Gallery, inside Michael's studio and an example of his sculpture

It was a fascinating morning, and yet another reminder of the rich seam of creativity which exists at our university.
I hope to continue mining this seam for some time - who knows what will be discovered next?