Comments on: Public records and public knowledge

By: Gavin Robinson

Gavin Robinson — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:48:53 +0000

You’re definitely on to something with the network of contacts. Granting certain people access to your notes can be a way of gaining influence and prestige, so I can see why a lot of academics wouldn’t want to give it all away for nothing. Unfortunately that contributes to a culture of secretiveness and protectiveness as people stake out their territory and jealously guard it.

As always time is also related to RAE – if RAE required or encouraged contributions to sites like Your Archives then people would make time for it but right now there’s no incentive.

Regardless of all that I’m intending to mention Your Archives contributions in my future funding bids, as at the very least it might raise awareness.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:33:41 +0000

The time factor is certainly strong. And there’s a bit of a reciprocity/lack of guilt aspect. If I’d found something useful there – and I will do, I’m sure, at some point in the future – then I’d feel I ought to offer some payback. Maybe it’s also that one develops one’s own network of contacts to go to who become the first point of enquiry. I wonder if the biggest sticking point all round might be the ‘web 2.0′ thinking required, however. That can sometimes go against the strong cultural pressures of academia (or expertise more generally).

By: Gavin Robinson

Gavin Robinson — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:20:35 +0000

This perfectly illustrates what I said about needing an unusual combination of things. There must be lots of people in the history blogosphere who think the idea of an archives wiki is really cool but who have never been to the PRO.

It’s a good point that it doesn’t have to be full transcripts of everything to be useful to people who can’t get to Kew in person.

That time freezing thing sounds good though…

By: Brett

Brett — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:12:19 +0000

what would make you more likely to contribute?

Some way of freezing time or otherwise getting it back would be a good start!

More seriously, I wouldn’t have much to add, as I’ve only ever seen a few PRO files — in fact I’ve never been to Kew, and everything I’ve gotten from there I’ve gotten through their online ordering service. But this makes me appreciate the potential of Your Archives all the more, because the PRO’s catalogue is fairly unless you already know what records you want (at least for WWI-period stuff). And even then there’s usually no information like how many folios are in any particular record. This when combined with having to wait 10 days or so for a copying estimate, and then another 10 days or so for the actual copying, makes things very tedious, if not impossible, for the long-distance researcher. (The cost is another issue …) Sadly, whenever I’ve checked YourArchives for records I’m interested in, there’s never anything there :( But one day there will be. I’m willing to help out with the process … when I have the time! :)