Public records and public knowledge
Do academic historians or PRO staff have a better knowledge of the public records? For records of the civil wars I suspect that academics have the upper hand. SP28 is not very well catalogued and sorted. Only researchers who have spent years working on it really know what’s there, and even now the source hasn’t been used to its full potential. Things are different with records of First World War soldiers. Amateur researchers seem to know far more about these than either academics or archive staff.
PRO/NA staff are increasingly aware that other people know more about their records than they do. One way they have responded is by launching Your Archives, a website running on wiki technology which allows anyone who has specialist knowledge of archival sources in the UK to contribute what they know. The site first opened to the public in spring 2007 and has continued to grow since then. I first started using it in October, and I’ve noticed an increase in activity in recent months. As well as the First World War stuff that I mentioned before, I’ve created a British Civil Wars category and started to populate it with my PhD notes, mostly taken from SP28.
There’s far more information that could be added, by me and by other people. Although contributions have been steadily increasing the number of regular contributors is still relatively small. I managed to encourage a few people from the Great War Forum to get involved, but not very many. Maybe one of the problems is that contributors need an unusual combination of specialist knowledge of archives, IT skills, and confidence with Web 2.0 ways of thinking. Or maybe Wikipedia has given all wikis a bad name that they don’t deserve.
If anyone who is reading this has relevant knowledge of PRO documents but hasn’t contributed to Your Archives, what would make you more likely to contribute?
Comment by Brett — 3:12 pm, 24 February 2008 [permanent link to this comment]
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! :)
Comment by Gavin Robinson — 6:20 pm, 24 February 2008 [permanent link to this comment]
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…
Comment by Dan — 8:33 am, 26 February 2008 [permanent link to this comment]
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).
Comment by Gavin Robinson — 3:48 pm, 26 February 2008 [permanent link to this comment]
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.