Class 9: National Archives of Scotland (15/07/2013)

Photo courtesy of NAS website

After studying in London for a little over two weeks, the time came for our class to venture outside of the city we had grown to love and explore. Luckily, our LondonAway trip had us set to visit Edinburgh in Scotland. Having visited here last year, I was personally stoked to come back to this amazing city and learn about some of the libraries and archives.

Our first stop in Edinburgh was the National Archives of Scotland (http://www.nas.gov.uk/). Margaret McBryde, the education officer, showed us all around this magnificent building and taught us a little bit about its history. For instance, the National Archives is a newer name for the building. It was originally called the National Records of Scotland (NRS), but due to a merger with another company and being in the midst of a transitional time, the name has been changed. Additionally, this building is only one of three that house records. Where we were was the archives that the public can come into and request materials, the other two are where records are stored.

Entrance into the National Archives

After learning about the history of the building, Ms. McBryde gave us a PowerPoint presentation about what happens in the National Archives. This department is responsible for all types of registration, like marriages, deaths, immigrants, etc., and statistical functions for the Scotland registry, including demographic information and census data. Also found here, physically and on-line, are records about all family histories having to do with Scotland. The archives do offer multiple on-line resources and workshops available for the public to use. There are even 2 hour free sessions made available to help patrons look up and use electronic records. Ms. McBryde gave us a few examples of the databases available, like the General Registrar Office of Scotland and the Scottish Archive Network, that can be used by anyone. I was tempted to use some of these resources and look up information on my grandfather that was born in Scotland just to see how all of these sites worked. It was pretty amazing to learn about all of this.

 Later on in the tour, Ms. McBryde let us examine and look at a bunch of historical records. In front of me were old deeds, church records, maps and plans, court/legal documents and other pieces of paper from hundreds of years ago. There were papers from the Jacobite Rebellion, the will of Robert Burns and a document from 1673 that served as evidence that golf was played in Scotland around this time. The oldest record on site is believed to be from 1120 and is from King David I. There was also a document from 1673 that served as evidence that golf was played in Scotland around this time. The coolest thing, in my opinion, were the criminal records that we saw. There were examples of old school mug shots (which also serve as early examples of photography) and records of how prisoners made it overseas to new places. There used to be a system used where each criminal came with a receipt and that was what was presented after they got to where they going and became proof that they reached their final destination. Seeing those was really cool.

Photo courtesy of NAS website

Our class concluded with a brief tour around the actual building. It was on this walk that we learned about how patrons could access archives, how they acquired reader's tickets and what rooms they were allowed to use to search for information. Overall, this tour was so informational and had so many fantastic things to learn and see. Ms. McBryde was an amazing educator and I couldn't be any happier with our first day in Edinburgh.

Class 8: British Museum Archives (12/07/2013)

The British Museum 

Skeletons, Mummies and Bones... Oh My!! This morning was all about the British Museum and exploring our way around the various exhibits going on. Personally, I’ve always had an interest in ancient Egypt so the third floor was right up my alley. From jewelry, sarcophagi, hieroglyphics  on clay tablets and mummies (yes, that’s right, actual mummies) I spent most of my morning browsing this floor. However, seeing these awesome artifacts wasn’t the only reason for our class coming to the British Museum on this gorgeous day. In fact, we were here to meet with Stephanie Adler, the one and only archivist who works in the British Museum Archives (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/libraries_and_archives.aspx). 

Minutes kept during meetings
in the 1800s. 

What Ms. Adler took us through today was what it’s like to work where she works. From looking at old ledgers of minutes that were kept during library hours to complaints made by patrons centuries ago to staff records and requests made, the history of this building is all in this room. In addition to all of these volumes which have survived over the years, there is something like 12,000 photographs which have to be catalogued and stored. These photographs include floor plans and set designs for exhibitions that have been in the library and swatches of color that have been used for wall paint and carpeting. In 1850, the museum employed its first photographer, so that gives just a slight idea as to how old some of these photos may be. 

Storage space for various pieces
of the collection

On this behind the scenes look, Ms. Adler also gave us a look at where items are stored, showed us the massive cabinets where plans and bigger pictures are stored and let us look at the Records of Round Reading Room, a ledger book full of names of patrons that used the library. Among the signatures were Beatrix Potter, and one of my personal favorites, Thomas Stoker, aka Bram Stoker. She even had part of a bomb that landed in the museum during WWII. 

Ms. Adler showing us a book
used in the Round Reading Room.
Bram Stoker was one of the signatures!! 

Up until 2000, all the records kept in these archives were physical copies. Slowly, the collection is becoming more digitized. As of right now, documents are scanned as they are needed and not real effort is being made to speed up the process. It was only in May of this year that the archives even got a catalogue which can be accessed. And while this may prove frustrating to some people, I think there is a lot that can be said for this. There’s so much history and so much connections which can be made by seeing and touching these things in person. It’s special and keeping the collection like that makes it stand out. That’s what left the most impression on me after this tour was finished and we went about our day. 

Class 7: Royal Geographical Society Library and Archive (11/07/2013)

Mr. Rae showing a map of the Nile River

Founded in 1830, the Royal Geographical Society and Library (http://www.rgs.org/HomePage.htm) has over 2 million items in its collection. 1/2 million maps, 2,000 atlases, and 1/2 million images are just a few items that can be found in this building. Our class had the pleasure, and honor, to get an up close and personal look at this amazing archive.

Eugene Rae, the principle librarian of the Royal Geographical Society, was kind enough to tell us a little bit about the history of the society and how its run. Because this society is founded on the belief and ideals of its members, it is a library that relies heavily on donations and efforts from outside contributors. And while most of the items which can be found here are donated, the society does have to be selective in what they can accept. Space is limited and only objects which have a strong connection to the society, or one of its most famous members, are accepted. 

For items already in the collection, there is no classification scheme in place. Materials are given a shelf marker. There is an on-line database available, and the staff is working hard to digitize many items. At the moment, there is not enough funding to keep up with the digitization efforts, so things are added as they are requested/needed. 

Hot and Cold
A small sampling of items we got to see 

What really stood out about this tour was how Mr. Rae had various materials spread out around the table for us to look at. From a compass used by Charles Darwin to an Arabian coffee pot to a Burberry Helmet to a fox collar used in the arctic, this table was like taking a historical trip around the world. From hot to cold climates, he took us on an adventure from what it was like to try to explore the Nile River to the top of Mount Everest. His knowledge and passion for all the stories he told and all the items he held was truly amazing. Looking back, this was my favorite tour of the trip. It was just that fantastic. 

An Arabian Coffee Pot 

Class 6: National Art Library at the V&A (10/07/2013)

Behind the Scenes
Seeing the National Art Library at the V&A

Class today was held at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. Built over 150 years ago, the V&A was built to be used as a practical library. Over time, the exhibitions housed here garnered more public attention and interest and a new building (this building) moved to a new location to meet the needs of the public. In 1858, the doors to the V&A were open to the public and now, the museum sees over 30,000 visitors each year. Our group was privileged enough to not only walk around the museum a bit, but to also get a behind the scenes  tour at the National Art Library (http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/n/national-art-library/ ) from Sally Williams. 

With over a million items in its collection, the National Art Library is known for its strong and extensive range of materials. Access is closed, but users can get a reading card and request, on-line, to see materials. Services are available to take photographs, scan documents and photocopy books for readers. The National Art Library does use databases, but they are only available on site. The staff is trying to make the catalogue available to users at home, but it just hasn’t been done yet. 

Ms. Williams took us to the stacks to see the 11,000 periodicals and thousands of books housed at the library. We learned how books were shelved by size, saw how periodicals were bound together in volumes and get an overall sense of what working for this library was like. Due to the importance of their materials, we learned about how close their relationship is with book conservation is and all about their preservation efforts. 

In order to preserve materials, the library does encourage readers to use electronic periodicals and fact sheets, that they provide, to limit handling materials or requests for the wrong items. What’s interesting though is despite these attitudes, the library is only just beginning to digitize its collection. There are about 200 hundred books available on Google Books, but there really isn’t enough resources to speed the process up. 

Original Picasso artwork 

David Coperfield
Written in Charles Dickens's own hand

After learning about the library’s collection, Ms. Williams took us to see some amazing books. Spread out on a table was a facsimile of DaVinci’s code book, pages of David Coperfield written in Charles Dickens's own hand, Picasso artwork and a rare first edition book binding of The Mystery of Edwin Drood from 1972. These items were just among the thousands of other rare items that can be found in this library. Poems hand written by Keats, more Dickens’s manuscripts, the world’s largest collection of Beatrix Potter material, Shakespeare folios and the original drawings of E.H. Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie the Pooh, are just a few names and examples of what else can be found in the special collections of this magnificent library. It is such a great place and there is nothing I wouldn’t give to have a week to spend just looking at some of these things, it would be amazing. 

Class 5: The London Archaeological Archive Center (08/07/2013)

Entrance to the Mortimer Wheeler House 

The London Archaeological Archive Society, LAARC, is housed at the Mortimer Wheeler House. It is one of three departments located in the building and it is only open to those that make an appointment to see materials beforehand. What's interesting about LAARC is that with over 25 thousand pieces in its collection, they are constantly loaning out items to museums, companies, exhibits, etc. so there is always something different going on in the building. Our guide, Dan Nesbitt, showed us all around today. 

Before talking about the tour, here is a bit of history we learned about LAARC. It is the world’s largest archaeological archive, and even holds the Guinness Book of World Record for it. They have a small staff and rely heavily on support from their amazing volunteers. In fact, their volunteer program is widely recognized, has received numerous awards and serves as a model for a lot of other organizations. First time volunteers are signed on for a ten week project, and once that’s completed can opt to sign on for a longer term. LAARC believes in the 4 motifs of curating, researching, leadership and learning. They are constantly reaching out to teach others in the community and garner interest in their efforts. It’s no wonder this association is world renowned. 

Original Model of the
Telephone Booth

One of the first rooms we went into was a toy room. From Furbys to board games to dolls, this room was filled with hundreds of collectibles from over the years. What really stood out was the red telephone box. This was the original model that G.G. Scott designed to create the winning design of the telephone boxes that are still on London streets to this day.  In a different room, and inaccessible unless you part of some magician’s organization, was an original Psycho. A psycho is those glass boxes with a fortune teller in them, usually found at fairs or carnivals, that gives a fortune on a slip of paper. Only those belonging to an organization are allowed to see this piece of history and learn how it works. I may or may not have considered changing careers for a hot second to gain access to this item. 

Leather boot used in Shakespeare's
 time and plays 

After looking at toys, Mr. Nesbitt took us all around the facility. We learned about prehistoric flints, arrowheads and whatnot, which are among the oldest items in the collection, we saw how mud was sifted to find items that have been buried and got a behind the scenes look at the processing area. It was in this area that another staff member, Graham, gave us a first hand look at how items are processed and showed us old pieces of lamps, pewter tins, needles and shears. The most awesome piece of history we saw was a cannon ball in a bucket. Mr. Nesbitt told us that one of these had been found at every Shakespearean theater excavation site. Found in 2008, these balls were believed to be used as props during shows to create different sound effects. Another Shakespeare artifact we saw was a piece of a leather boot believed to have been used during his shows.

Outdoor Area
Full of dirt waiting to be sifted

In college, my roommate was studying, interned and ultimately worked as an archaelogist for the New York State Museum. I remember her telling me about what she had found at various sites, and I’m not going to lie, more often than not I wondered to myself how in the heck can someone find this interesting? Well after today, I can now understand. Looking at animal bones, pieces of clothing, old glass from the 19th century and thing else our glass saw today, I was fascinated by it all. It’s such an interesting world to see what has survived over time and learn about how life used to be. 

For more information on the London Archaelogical Archive Center, please check out their website, http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/LAARC/  or give their blog a read, http://www.mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/blog/category/laarc/. 

Class 4: The British Library (04/07/2013)

Bench at the entrance
of the British Library 

Today's class took us to the British Library, the national library of the United Kingdom. Housing over 200 million items, this library is also home to the world's second largest map collection. Our guide, Nigel Hobbs, led us all over the library and showed us some really neat behind the scenes areas.

Before even starting the tour, we learned about the library's collection and collection development. The most interesting thing I learned was about the copy right laws. Due to these laws, the British Library is required to retain a copy of any published material, like books, magazines, newspapers, etc., which are published in the UK or in the Republic of Ireland. Weekly, the library receives hundreds upon hundreds of new material which needs to be catalogued and stored. It's because of these guidelines, the British Library is forced to be quite selective in what materials it acquires from other parts of the world.

Overall view of the British Libray

Besides the collections, we learned about the physical make up and design of the library. Only about 40 years old, this building is relatively new. At the time it was considered an eye sore and there was a lot of negative feedback once it was constructed. In addition to this building, the library also has items in three other buildings, which anyone can access, either through requesting materials or having documents e-mailed to them.

Inside of the British Library there are 11 reading rooms containing seats for about 1200 patrons. Anyone over the age of 18 can register for a reading card as long as they have a need or specific reason to access the collection. Patrons are encouraged to apply on-line and pre-register and then come into get the card once it is done. Passes can be given for up to one year. What was really awesome was learning that one reader the library served was Johnny Depp! How amazing would that have been if he was there the same day we were?

From there, Mr. Hobbs took us to see the inner workings of the library. We saw the mechanical book handling system (MBHS), which is how materials are disturbed throughout the library. There are over 3,000 routes a book can take with this system to get to the desired destination. It's how requested materials get to where they need to be and it's an efficient system. Then there is the King's Library, which is the massive column of books contained in a glass case in the middle of the library. There are over 85,000 books which were left by King George IIIV in this room. He donated these books under some conditions, which include that the books be seen by the public and they be available for use by anyone that needs them. The British Library still honors his requests to this day.

Lastly, the coolest part of the tour was seeing the Klendke Atlas. Well over six feet tall, this atlas is the world's second largest one made. Just standing next to it was very impressive.

Klendke Atlas:
The world's second largest atlas

View from the bottom:
Looking at books left by King George

Learning all about the British Library, it's materials, the collections and how the MBHS worked was really interesting. Mr. Hobbs was a great tour guide who knew a lot and gave our group a lot of inside knowledge and facts throughout the visit.

If you want to learn more about the British Library, please visit their website: http://www.bl.uk/ 

Class 3: Off to Oxford (03/07/2013)

Today, our class travelled to Oxford. A city known worldwide, it was great to be able to explore all around and learn what was offered here. 

Entrance to the Courtyard
Just beyond is the Bodleian

Starting the day off, our class went to the Bodleian Library, 

Walking into the School of Divinity

(http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/bodley). Split into two groups, my group was led by Matthew. Sitting in the first room, The School of Divinity,I couldn’t help but to think that it looked quite familiar. It wasn’t long into the tour before Matthew mentioned that this room was used as the infirmary in Harry Potter (second filming location in two days, amazing!!) and that explained it. After this bit of excitement, we then were told all about the history of the college and how it was originally built to prepare men for the clergy. It was only in the 1400s that the idea of academics becoming diversified came into play and learning wasn’t centered around just religious ideas. There was a major shift of oral traditions, traditionally used in church learnings, to the written word, book learning.

Why does this door look familiar?
It was used in a Harry Potter film. 

In 1448, the first library was opened at Oxford. A huge portion of books were donated by Prince Humpfrey. Still in place, to this day, are the original rafters and beams that were constructed to build the room. Originally the library was seen as prestigious but it wasn’t functional, it acted more as a museum than anything else. It wasn’t until 1598 when Thomas Bodleian, give you one guess where the library’s name came from, asked to restore the library and designed it from scratch. From the shelving to the tables, Bodleian brought new ideas to the space. The most interesting fact Matthew told us was about the book shelves. Prior to this time, libraries weren’t built in an upwards direction, Bodleian built his shelves floor to ceiling, which was a relatively new innovation. After the space was built, Bodleian had a significant say in the types of works that were acquired. Also after the space was opened, he also set rules into place. There was to be no lighting, candles, gas lights, etc., in the library to ensure no fires would happen. It wasn’t until 1929 that the first electric lighting was installed. He also decreed this place to be a reference library only. To this day the Bodleian Library still honors his ideas and stipulations. What also deserves mentioning is this room in the library was also used in the filming of Harry Potter, I may have a slight problem but I accept it. In the scene where he is studying there is a candle lit in front of him. This candle was digitally added in later on in respect to the rules of the library. Pretty cool!! 

For the rest of the tour, we learned all about the collection in the library. With 12 to 13 million items, and growing by a 1/4 million each year, the amount of materials that can be found is massive. We walked inside the Racliff Camera and into the different reading rooms.Coming full circle, our group ended the tour in the School of Divinity. We walked into the a room where hearings took place and then saw an old courtroom that used to be used for students back in the day. Just walking around this library, you can feel the centuries of history it holds. 

Later on in the day, our class took a tour of Christ College. Famous for being where Carroll Lewis studied and came up with the idea to write Alice in Wonderland, this was beautiful college to walk the grounds off. Aside from seeing all the influences Lewis pulled from, the dining hall of Christ College was also a familiar site. Once again, a Harry Potter tie in, this dining hall served as the inspiration for the Great Hall. So cool! More than one Potter reference in one day, I'm set. 

Sitting on the train ride home, I reflected on everything that we saw today. This is a town that is known for its history and has a reputation knwon worldwide. After spending a day on the streets, I now understand where all of that comes from. The Bodleian Library and Christ College were magical tours, and I’m not just saying that because of the Harry Potter sightings !! 

Welcome to Oxford