‘From the Cloud to the Reading Room’: Mediating User Experience of Archival

Collections in Research .

Barry HoulihanArchivist, James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway

Overview

Archives

& Research

CollectionManagement

Digital & Material Objects

Archival Literacy

Teaching LearningResearch

Strategic Visions for Archives NUI Galway Strategic Plan 2015-2020 launched March ’15

Ambitious plans to greatly increase research output, citations, international population and global ranking.

Direct mention of Library & Archives but wider indirect references via research profiling

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• 25% of the student body coming from outside Ireland.• The University plans to develop a major Industry and

Innovation Hub and lead Galway’s bid for European Capital of Culture 2020.

• The University has prioritised five cross–disciplinary research themes - Humanities in Context, including Digital Humanities; Informatics and Data Analytics.

• High rate of student retention maintained at 84%

“Some of Ireland’s most iconic cultural, political and historical

figures and organisations have entrusted us with preserving and

interpreting their archives: our work with the Abbey Theatre to

create the world’s largest digital theatre archive is a landmark

project in this area.”

- NUI Galway Strategic Plan 2015-2020

Measures:• Embedded graduate attributes at both undergraduate and

postgraduate levels

• Research-led teaching

• High-quality research

• Measurable impact

• Archives an embedded partner in teaching & research

Mediating the (Digital) Archive

• Meeting changing user expectations – exploring the point where ‘Hardiman Library’ meets ‘Digital Library’

• Archive literacy, digital literacy and pedagogical development

• Balance the focus between the material format and the digital content of the archive

• New opportunities to increase usage and integrate wider digital and non-digital collections into research

School Institute Name to go here

Managing the Archive - What is Changing?

Archiv(es)/ists

Types of RecordsPlace of AccessMethods of PreservationMeans of ConservationEthics in AccessInterdisciplinary Research Collaborative Data Sharing

Users

ExpectationsInstant AccessSecureTotality of material (?)Commercially exploitableDigitally malleableMethods of Dissemination

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Archives Supporting Research

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Learning Through Encountering- Digital and Material Together

• Integration of mixed media sources

• Aware of varying levels of experience of each user group

• Material and digital together can enhance learning

• Developing the digital learner as well as the digital material

Interdisciplinary research – Linking Archives

Northern Ireland – Boyle/Duddy/O’Brádaigh archives

Boyle, Northern Ireland & Abbey Theatre – New Understandings of the Conflict

Linked Collections: Robinson, De Buitléar, Balfour

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Landscape, People, Culture- Documenting the West

Training and Engagement

• Focus on training on using and understanding the database – creating self-sufficient users:– One-to-one information sessions– Group Training– Embedded training as part of tutorial/lecture

Modules: “The Abbey Theatre Digital Archive”

“Discover the Archives”Archivist-developed module on research and archives –

Coming Soon!

Module AimThis module will allow students to develop critical and independent research skills, interpretive skills, contextual analysis and digital research strategies through usage of archive and primary source research material.

Module OverviewStudents will experience an innovative and stimulating introduction to the theory and practice of archives and records management, from historic records to the digital age, the importance of records and archives and their impact in society, interrogating and trusting archives, linking archives for research and develop new learning techniques and experiences through handling, examining and discovering archival materials

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Potential (Draft!) Outline and Topics:• Introduction to Archives

• Relevance of Archives in Society: Accountability and

Archives as Evidence / Evidence as Archives

• Irish Writing, Irish Writers: John McGahern

• Citizens, Streets and Stages: Irish Theatre Archives

• Archiving the West: Culture, Language, People &Landscape

• Archives of Conflict: Northern Ireland in Context

• From Page to Screen: The Digital Repository

• Linking Archives for Research

Archivist as Teacher:How to use, approach & understand archives

The Archives and Reading Room as continuation of the learning/research cycle.

Lecture Room - > Assignments -> Reading Room/Archivist ->

1st question is always “What do you have ….”

Active role in teaching users HOW to research

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Mixed-media archival research in action

Being Visible in Research- Aiding Citations/User Friendly Usage

Designing an Outreach Programme - Maximise OUR Strengths

• Exhibitions: Performing Ireland: 1904-2014. The first exhibition to come from the Abbey Theatre Digital Archive

Project

Exhibition: Yeats and The West Coming June 2015

Digital and Material Exhibition

Conference: Performing the Archive22-24 July 2015, NUI Galway

From The Cloud to the Reading Room – A Bumpy Journey?

Improving User Experience in Abbey Theatre Digital Archive

• Streamlined log-in process for Campus ID holders• Various zoom function for outsize material• Tagging of individual press files to specific productions• Scroll-through pages for large files (instead of page-by-page

turn)Comments and Suggestions still arriving:

Tagging of letters and correspondenceTranscription of manuscript material

Archival Collections and Research: - Facing the Future

• Users increasingly digital natives / born-digital collections• Open access expectations• User-driven demand for digitally malleable material• Multi-functional publishing – digital, open access, data• Training in archive literacy and discovery methodologies –

‘smart searching’• Increase in archivist-led teaching

Emphasise not WHICH collection you use in research, it’s the idea of USING Collections is what matters!

Thank You & Stay in Touch! @Nuigarchives

http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/archives/