In a recent blog I talked about scanning, and how the digitisation of archive materials has changed the world of research. (Take another look! http://bsuarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/scanning-scanning-and-more-scanning.html)
There is a good deal of dispute, amongst researchers, historians and in the archive world, about whether online or real access is 'better'. But as with many other areas of life, there are pros and cons to both access routes.
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| A digitizing challenge: this scrapbook charts the early years of Newton Park Teacher Training college, and was the property of Principal Mary Dawson. All of the items are glued in, and the whole book is rather fragile. |
There is more material available to view online with each day that passes. Recent developments have seen the digitisation of Queen Victoria's diaries, as well as Blitz maps of London, made widely available for the first time. As well as offering these resources to a far, far greater number of people, it is also the means to protect the original documents from over-handling.
As a researcher, returning to university as a mature student just four years ago, I was staggered at the sheer number of easily accessible resources available through the university library. Here was a gold mine of information, to be found at my fingertips, via the computer. I read ancient books, opened Georgian newspapers and looked at famous and obscure paintings right down to the smallest brush strokes.
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| Domestic Science College students, 1916. This photograph is very evocative of the era, with women students reflecting masculine styles of dress and stance. The image is also stained with dirty fingermarks and battered at the edges |
A visit to a 'real archive' and the handling of real documents naturally takes this fascination onto an even more thrilling level, but for me, this initial online access prepared the way, enhancing my interest in primary sources.
I had already fallen under the spell of archive materials via technology when I was given the opportunity for a placement in a real archive. And there, in the search room of the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire, I fell under the spell of old documents completely. The feel, and above all the intoxicating smell of them, can transport you to an entirely new level of appreciation of the past. I'll never forget the letter from a First World War soldier and the pressed flowers which fell out as I unfolded it.
The placement with Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, and everything I learned there, has informed the work we do here at BSU Archive. The ongoing digitisation of our documents will mean access for all those who wish to know more about the history of the university. This in turn will lead to greater research into the many aspects of the past, as yet uncovered. It will also mean that more people could have the opportunity to handle the real documents and, through oral history testimony, to listen to the real people who have experienced life in these places over the years.
The placement with Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, and everything I learned there, has informed the work we do here at BSU Archive. The ongoing digitisation of our documents will mean access for all those who wish to know more about the history of the university. This in turn will lead to greater research into the many aspects of the past, as yet uncovered. It will also mean that more people could have the opportunity to handle the real documents and, through oral history testimony, to listen to the real people who have experienced life in these places over the years.
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| Group photograph of Domestic Science students, 1937. This image has been stored, rolled, for many years, and is difficult to unroll. Another challenge to come... |
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| The first Newton Park students, 1946. Those who have been interviewed from the late 1940s recall the simpler pleasures they enjoyed, and a feeling of unity having lived through the deprivation of the war years. |
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