Using World War I archives for teaching students at Swansea University

I am grateful to The Welsh experience of World War One 1914-1918 project for this news item. Well worth a look at the blog for other interesting stories and photos: http://cymruww1.llgc.org.uk/

As soon as the documents from the Richard Burton Archives had been digitised and returned to Swansea, they were being used as part of a course for the Department of History and Classics. The Practice of History is a compulsory second year module which discusses the variety of historical sources explored by historians, how they can be used and the intellectual and practical problems that can arise from using them.

In a fresh approach this year the module is being taught using primary sources linked to particular areas of research. One group is studying World War I, in particular the home front, the battle front, and women and the war. Last week they visited the Richard Burton Archives for an introduction to using archives and to start using the documents selected.

http://cymruww1.llgc.org.uk/2013/02/14/using-world-war-i-archives-for-teaching-students-at-swansea-university/

Richard Burton diaries – Swansea University

Huge publicity for Swansea University over the last two weeks with the publication of Richard Burton’s private diaries.

Professor Chris Williams, who edited The Richard Burton Diaries, and who spoke about them at the launch events in the USA, said:
“Richard Burton was, and remains, a global name and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to speak internationally about his personal diaries, which reveal the deeply cultured, widely-read, intellectual man he was.  And I think he would have been very pleased as well.”

Richard Burton’s diaries form part of a bequest of his papers to Swansea University by Sally Burton and are held in the Richard Burton Archives and Research Centre.

The Archives have been providing support for launch events and transcription of the text for the edition was carried out by Assistant Archivist, Dr Katrina Legg. The diaries were serialised in The Telegraph and launched at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. There has been worldwide media interest in the publication which has resulted in a number of requests for filming in the Archives. Launch events were organised by the Welsh Government in the United States in New York and Los Angeles, with readings from the diaries by Kate Burton, Matthew Rhys, Ioan Gruffudd and Andrew Howard. Chris Williams appeared on the NBC ‘Today’ programme:
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49415059#49415059

Historic Welsh events online

People’s memories of watching television footage of some of the most significant events in Wales from 1950 – 2000, can now be viewed on a new website funded by Jisc for researchers, teachers and the general public.

Historical events such as the Aberfan disaster in 1966, the Miners’ Strike in 1984 and the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 are some of the important events to have been documented and placed on the website, created by Aberystwyth University as part of Jisc’s investment in opening up valuable content online.

As well as interviews with contributors and film footage the website, which is called Media and Memory in Wales, also includes maps, documents and photographs.

Professor Iwan Rhys Morus, from the Department of History and Welsh History and leading the project, explains: “The website will be a vital resource for academic researchers, professionals in the media and policy makers. You could easily spend hours searching through the stories that are collected here.If you are inspired to share your own memory of watching these events and of the impact of television on your life, you can contribute to People’s Collection Wales.”

The project was carried out by Aberystwyth University’s History and Welsh History Department with support from project partners Culturenet Cymru. Other partners are BBC Wales whose footage of the events provided an important spur for peoples’ memories, and the National Screen and Sound Archive at the National Library of Wales where the content will be archived.

More: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2012/05/tv.aspx

The Milne Collection – An American Civil War Library

The Milne Collection is one of Swansea University Library’s foremost resources for students, staff and visiting researchers and is available on a reference basis for research and scholarship.

The collection of approximately 2,500 books was gifted in 2010 to the American Studies programme at Swansea University and continues to grow.

Among the most impressive holdings of the collection is a wide array of government documents, including the Presidential papers of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant, as well as those of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Other highlights include House and Executive documents dating back to 1860, army and navy records, as well as personal and diplomatic correspondences from many Union and Confederate government and military leaders.

The collection boasts hundreds of personal narratives – including many post-Civil War veterans’ writings and recollections – and is particularly strong on Civil War battles and campaigns; individual generals and other officers; fighting units and regimental histories; common soldier letters, diaries, reminiscences and autobiographies; strategy, tactics, weaponry and leadership; military manuals and organizational and support provision – especially medical and surgical services.

More broadly, the collection also includes a comprehensive array of materials relating to Civil War naval and maritime studies; many items are concerned with both the Union and Confederate home fronts and civilian life; local and state studies; the role of women and slavery during the Civil War era; newspaper and other reportage commentaries; and contains a large number of atlases and encyclopedias.

For more information on the Milne Collection, please contact Dr. Ian Glen, Arts and Humanities Librarian: E-mail: i.glen@swansea.ac.uk

Welsh history of World War One to go online

A project led by the National Library of Wales in partnership with the libraries, special collections, and archives of Wales has received £500,000 in funding from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) for mass digitisation of primary sources relating to World War One.

The project will make available a unique digital collection revealing the hidden history of World War One as it affected all aspects of Welsh life, language and culture. The project will digitise printed and manuscript sources as well as moving image, audio and photographic material.  These source materials are presently fragmented and frequently inaccessible, yet collectively they form a unique resource of vital interest to researchers, students, and the public in Wales and beyond.

The digital collection will be available through a website, and enhanced through the use of translation tools to enable broadest access.

‘The online resource will provide an invaluable resource for teaching, research, and commemoration in time for the 100th anniversary of the start of the War,’ said Andrew Green, Librarian of the National Library of Wales. ‘This is a fantastic example of collaboration across the libraries, archives and special collections of Wales to make our unique materials available to the widest international audience via digitization.’

The project has been developed by WHELF (the Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum). Collections to be digitised are from the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth University Special Collections, Archives and Special Collections, Bangor University, Trinity St David’s Special Collections, Swansea University, Cardiff University Library, the Archives of BBC Cymru Wales and archives and local records offices that are members of ARCW (Archives and Records Council, Wales). The People’s Collection Wales will gather content generated by communities and local and family historians. It will also digitise and in personal collections via outreach and targeted digitisation of significant material to enhance and complement the collections of the higher education partners. The unified, mass digital collection that will be created will represent the experience of the entire Welsh nation during World War One.

The content to be digitised has been selected in collaboration with academics in Wales and beyond, and the digital outputs of the project will lead to new research findings about Wales in World War One.

Paola Marchionni, JISC programme manager, said: “Through digitisation and collaborative working this project will bring together an impressive array of scattered content into one place and promises to become a key reference point for researchers and students looking at the Welsh experience of World War One. JISC is very proud to support this project which will also complement a number of other JISC funded World War One commemoration activities as well as national and international initiatives.”

The total cost of the digitisation project is £987,916. £500,000 in funding has been provided by the JISC Content programme 2011-13. Matched funding has been provided from institutional contributions from the project partners.

The project begins in February 2012, and the online resource will be launched in June 2013.

Jisc content programme

Jisc ww1 commemoration activities

For information, please contact Lorna Hughes, University of Wales Chair in Digital Collections, National Library of Wales: lorna.hughes@llgc.org.uk

Sir Alex admires Swansea University’s archive of American Civil War Books

Sir Alex Ferguson took time out of his busy schedule to visit Swansea University to see its extensive collection of over 3,000 books about the American Civil War, generously donated to the American Studies programme by a private collector, Alan Milne.

Jon Roper, Professor of American Studies, invited the famous Manchester United manager to the University when he discovered that Sir Alex has a long-standing fascination with the Civil War and a wide-ranging knowledge of American history.

Professor Roper said: “Sir Alex is extremely interested and knowledgeable about the War and the personalities involved in it, including President Abraham Lincoln, and Generals such as Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. It was our privilege to have him visit this major research archive in American Studies”.

Sir Alex spent an hour at the University’s library and saw for himself the collection of precious books, including rare first editions. He talked about the subject with Dr. David Anderson, lecturer in American Studies and a specialist in this area. He also met a number of American Studies students at the University.

Sir Alex was particularly interested in a book that recounts the story of two brothers from Scotland who fought on opposing sides during the War. He also commented how impressed he was with the collection.

Unfortunately Sir Alex’s Manchester United team weren’t so kind to Swansea’s football team – they beat them 1-0!

CyMAL’s latest magazine published

Worth a look at the new CyMAL magazine: http://wales.gov.uk/docs/drah/publications/110905cymalmag11en.pdf

Major articles from Peter Keelan and Janet Peters on Cardiff Rare Books and Alan Vaughan Hughes on Welsh Newspapers and Journals Online … plus a profile of Lorna Hughes.

Unique & Distinctive Collections: a career opportunity

RLUK seeks to commission for the period of 12 months a Unique and Distinctive Collections (UDC) Project Manager (part-time, £35,000 at 1/5) to coordinate the implementation of the Unique and Distinctive Collections strand of the RLUK Strategic Plan 2011-2014. The officer will ideally be seconded from a research library, will have experience of working with unique and distinctive collections, and be confident working in an academic environment.

This is an exciting, rare opportunity to conduct research, analysis and outreach in the context of some of the finest collections in the UK and Ireland, with impact both at home and internationally.

Job Description and Person Specification:

http://www.rluk.ac.uk/content/rluk-seeks-fill-unique-and-distinctive-collections-project-manager-post

The deadline for applications is 1 September 2011.

Any queries should initially be addressed to:

Mike Mertens
Deputy Director
RLUK
Email: mike.mertens@rluk.ac.uk

OCLC Research and RLUK to survey special collections and archives in research libraries within the UK and Ireland

OCLC Research and Research Libraries UK are working together on a project to gather data on special collections in research libraries in the UK and Ireland. The project is similar to a project conducted by OCLC Research in 2009 that gathered data on special collections in the United States and Canada.

The distinction that special collections bring to research institutions has become widely recognized, and an aggregated profile of collections, access policies, users, adoption of new technologies, and other important topics will establish norms across the UK special collections community. The data will effectively support decision-making for strategic priorities and collaborative projects. Individual libraries will be able to place themselves in the context of community norms and consider taking appropriate actions in response.

For the full press release: http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/2011/201139.htm

Turning the Pages

New technology designed to allow users to virtually ‘turn’ the pages of digitised books has been unveiled in Cardiff by the University’s Vice-Chancellor.

Dr David Grant and Professor Elizabeth Treasure, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, visited Information Services’ Special Collections and Archives (SCOLAR) section where the new 40” digital 3D touch-screen and Turning the Pages software is based.

The new software will give users the opportunity to view some of Wales’ oldest books and manuscripts, which form part of the collection of 14,000 rare items transferred to the University earlier in the year.

Users will be able to turn pages in real-life 3D mode, zoom in, magnify images, and admire some of the magnificently illustrated books and manuscripts in the University’s collections.

SCOLAR’s purchase of the touch-screen and software, as part of a grant from the Wolfson Trust, makes Cardiff the first institution in Wales to use such technology to display digital rare books.

Head of SCOLAR, Peter Keelan, said: “Cardiff University is the first institution in Wales to use Turning the Pages, and with the support of the Assembly Government and Cymal, we will now be making available portable versions of Turning the Pages to tour Wales – another first for SCOLAR.”

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/articles/turning-the-pages.html