Wednesday 30 July 2008

Edinburgh, Scotland-National Library of Scotland & National Archives of Scotland- 7-21-08




Our first tour of the day was at the National Library of Scotland, which is just a short walk down the Royal Mile from the castle. Emma and David were our lecturers/tour guides. We began the tour with a presentation on the history of the John Murray Archive. The collection was developed in 2002, and cost 32.5 million pounds, thanks to John Murray VII. He wanted to make resources more accessible and simpler to the common people. He also wanted to teach people how to use a catalog, research, and read Victorian handwriting.

They hired a curatorial staff, museum curators, and costume-makers to assist with the project. There was a good bit of discussion about how to display manuscripts, what methods would work best to interpret and explain the manuscripts, making them child-friendly or more interactive, as well as the issues of conservation, lighting, height, and environment. They found that labels telling the age and purpose of inclusion, made easier to understand, aesthetically pleasing, and making things relate to current times would benefit users most. They also made things interactive, using light and shadow to highlight items and create dramatic environment. They have done market research and continue to do so by asking for comments or suggestions from visitors.

The Learning Outcomes mentioned were: Knowledge & Understanding, Skills, Attitudes & Values, Enjoyment & Inspiration, Creativity, Activity, Behavior & Progression.

The archive presents documents from 1768-2002, and contains 20,000 authors, with 150,000 items total in the collection. The collection has been built through 7 generations of the Murray family, and all were interested in different subjects: Publishing, literature & poetry, geography, science, and travel. It is the most expensive archive in the world, worth 45 million pounds (1.2 million pounds per item).

We then discussed issues pertaining to conservation, such as repairing and preparing items for use. They are digitizing the collection; they currently have 15,000 images. They are also making copies of documents for travel exhibition purposes.

For more information about the National Library of Scotland or the John Murray collection, please see: http://www.nls.uk/

Our visit that afternoon, after a brief walk through the park below the castle, was to the National Archives of Scotland. Margaret McBride was our tour guide. She gave us a lecture with a power point presentation, then toured us through the facilities. The Archives are a National Government Agency, headed by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland. They are under the responsibility of the Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture Department. They are there to promote, preserve, protect, and make accessible all items in the archive. They have 30-40 archivists, 3 buildings, 160 other staff members, and 5 websites.

There are 2 divisions in the archives: The Record Services Department, which keeps Government Records, Court & Legal documents, Private documents, and do Outreach Services; and the Corporate Services Department, which handles Accommodation for tours and such, Financial and Administration services, Information & Computer Technology, Conservation services, and Reader services.

The General Register House cost 12,000 pounds to build in the 1870s. Both the General Register House and West Register House have Reading Rooms, but the Thomas Thomson House is used for storage, binding, cataloging, and conservation purposes only. The conservation area is similar to the Conservation Centre at the British Library, except they also have vacuum tubes for dust removal.

Their functions are to: select public records and decide if they are worth permanent preservation, acquire historical records of national importance, divert, devolve, or transfer records to appropriate repositories, and arrange for disposal, preserve records, promote public access, provide advice, develop a standard archival & record management practice in Scotland, and deploy resources as needed.

They have over 70 kilometres of records beginning with the 12th century. They have an electronic catalog, card/paper catalog, and 5 websites to assist with research. They do ask for feedback to customize services for better customer usage. They also have partnerships with Botanical Gardens, Lifelong Learning Classes, and hold Community Classes for outreach. In the next couple of years they will be reopening as "Scotland's People Centre."

The website for the National Archives of Scotland is: http://www.nas.gov.uk/

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