We would like to receive good, focused applications from as many parts of the world as possible. We recently put on a series of webinars to introduce the Programme and discuss how to make the best possible application, and therefore increase the likelihood of a successful project. The panel for each webinar included two previous Grant Holders who shared their experiences, talked about the challenges and gave their advice. Here are the presentations from the French, Spanish and Arabic webinars.
Note that the working language for the Programme is English, and applications must be in English. Check our Guidance for more information and get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of the process. We look forward to receiving a rich and diverse set of applications for the next round which opens in September.
Nous aimerions recevoir des candidatures fortes et ciblées provenant d’un grand nombre de pays et de regions du monde. Nous avons récemment organisé une série de webinaires pour présenter le programme et discuter comment soumettre la meilleure candidature possible et ainsi augmenter vos chances de succès. Le panel de chaque webinaire comprenait deux anciens participants qui ont partagé leurs expériences, parlé des défis et donné leurs conseils. Voici la présentation en français:
Notez que l’anglais est la langue de travail du Programme et que les candidatures doivent être rédigées en anglais. Consultez le nouveau “Guidance for Applicants” (en anglais) pour plus d’informations et n’hésitez pas à nous contacter si vous souhaitez en savoir plus. Nous sommes impatients de recevoir des candidatures riches et variées pour la prochaine session qui sera en septembre prochain.
Nos gustaría recibir buenas, fuertes y concretas candidaturas provenientes de diferentes regiones del mundo. Recientemente organizamos una serie de seminarios web para presentar el programa y debatir como preparar de la mejor manera la solicitud y así aumentar la posibilidad de éxito de las propuestas. El panel de cada seminario web incluía dos antiguos participantes que compartieron sus experiencias, hablaron sobre posibles dificultades y dieron consejos. Aquí esta la presentación en lengua Española:
Tenga en cuenta que el Programa es en Ingles, y las candidaturas tienen que ser escritas en lengua Inglesa. Consulte nuestras Guia para los participantes, dónde obtendrá más información y no dude en contactarnos si desea comentar algún aspecto del proceso en concreto. Esperamos recibir candidaturas ricas y diversas para nuestra siguiente sesión que abre en Septiembre.
تقديم برنامج حفظ الأرشيف المعرض للخطر بلغات أخرى
اللغة العربية
هدفنا هو استقبال طلبات تتميز بجودة عالية من مناطق ودول متعددة حول العالم. لهذا قام أعضاء من فريق برنامجنا مؤخراً بتقديم مجموعة من ندوات الويبناربعدة لغات. ركَز كل ويبنارعلى التعريف بالبرنامج وتناولَ كيفية كتابة طلب جيد وهذا بطبيعة الحال يزيد احتمالية إنتاج مشروع ناجح. تألفت اللجنة في كل ويبنار من خبراء قاموا سابقاً بإدارة مشاريع مع برنامجنا حيث شاركونا تجربتهم وتحدثوا بشفافية عن التحديات التي واجهتهم وقدوموا نصائحهم. إليكم العرض الذي تم تقديمه باللغة العربية
نود لفت انتباهكم إلى أن اللغة المعتمدة لبرنامجنا هي اللغة الإنجليزية ولهذا لا بد أن تكون جميع الطلبات المقدمة مكتوبة باللغة الإنجليزية. يمكنكم الإطلاع على "الدليل الإرشادي" للحصول على معلومات أكثر، كما يمكنكم التواصل معنا إذا كنتم ترغبون بمناقشة أي جانب من عملية التقديم. نتطلع لاستقبال مجموعة غنية ومتنوعة من الطلبات في الجولة القادمة التي تبدأ في أيلول
The first live EAP webinar “Completing a Successful Preliminary Application” took place on 2 November 2018. Over 40 participants from around the globe took part in an online Q&A session, where EAP staff members and previous grant holders s answered questions about all aspects of the application process. The presentation and Q&As are reproduced below.
Do endangered archives of film (i.e. motion-picture) reels qualify under EAP? These are 20th-century artefacts, and some even from second half of 20th century, but under threat of destruction and spoilage.
You should consider copyright issues - this can be quite complicated for film. Do also consider Documenting Global Voices, another Arcadia project and note the dates of their competition. You must also think how unique the material is and whether there are copies elsewhere.
How small is a small digitisation project to be considered for a Pilot project? (e.g. we want to digitise about 10,000 lyrics = 10,000 tiff files. is that too big to be considered as a pilot project?!)
It depends on time and budget. This seems a rather large amount of material, but could fit within the Pilot project budget depending on circumstances. Pilots are generally given for projects that last under a year and cost less than £15,000 - if you think you would need more time or money, apply for a Major grant. You may also apply for a Major grant with a smaller budget.
We are working with archaeological records, some of which are unpublished surveys of sites. The publication of this raises some questions, most significantly, the possibility of leading potential looters to unsecured sites. While we’d like all the material to be open, but is there a way keep these records private?"
All EAP material must be made available online - I recommend you contact the other Arcadia funded project based in Oxford – EAMENA – as they focus on archaeology.
What is the policy/EAP recommendations for copyright of orphan works? Are there any concerns especially for non-commercial source material?
The grant holder needs to do the research into copyright of the physical material. We ask for Creative Commons, Non-Commercial licences for all material. For orphan works, the grant of permission form should be signed by the person who owns the material.
If you’re an independent researcher what type of experience are you looking for in regards to applying?
It is possible to do a project as an independent researcher – the experience that would help towards a successful project are digitisation experience, preferably in the field, as well as project management, language ability, understanding of the material, and good budgeting skills. There are, however, several disadvantages – working with a respected partner organisation can benefit the project by providing an institutional framework for project support and administration.
I am keen for technical assistance to help preserve and digitise my very large collection on the Holy Land
Do have a look at Remote Capture (https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/747). It is free to download from Open Book Publishers. I would also suggest that you do not attempt to digitise the whole amount, rather focus on one aspect. You can also budget for training within the grant application. I'd add that the pilot project stage offers the opportunity to trial your digitisation method, perhaps making adjustments/improvements during the major grant stage. During my [Andrew Pearson's] St Helena pilot project, I digitised a relatively small volume of material, but rather I trialled the photography on a variety of document types, to see what worked well with my camera set-up, and what didn't.
What if some of the documents are considered sensitive material by the authorities in the country where the archive is located (in this case Egypt) - for example maps? Could these be exempt from being put online?
You would need to get the appropriate permissions. If these are state archives, then you would need governmental permissions. We only fund material that can go online.
Having located endangered material in private collections across a region, can one independently initiate and carry out a project without recourse to a team at an institution? (Provided all the material is indeed deposited at a relevant local institution, in addition to BL, once it is digitised?)
Please refer to question #6. In addition, you really would need to have significant experience in digitisation and metadata to be able to handle the workload by yourself.
If an independent researcher is partnering with the country archive or museum, whose experience do you detail in the application?
The independent researcher’s experience is what the panel will be assessing.
Do you pay for travel costs of person teaching how to digitise and can you confirm if the equipment stays with the local archive?
Yes, we will pay those costs, as long as they have been detailed in the application and approved by the panel. The equipment does remain in the country for further use.
Could you please confirm if archival material on microfilm (dating from the late 1800s to 1900s) qualify?
Digitising microfilm is quite complicated (the BL outsources this) so look at the feasibility and the uniqueness of the content on the microfilm.
Do EAP grants cover the undertaking of an oral history project that is focused on gathering and recording new material?
We do not pay for interviewing as the main part of a project. We have digitised oral histories that are on a format that is at risk, such as cylinders and tapes.
Does a photographic archive deriving from film reels (especially damaged or partially spoiled ones) qualify for deposit in digital form? i.e. Does it have to be full reels/films for digitisation or parts/excerpts are admissible?
We have not had experience with this to date. If you are applying, you would need to detail the percentage of recoverable material in the application.
When does "pre-modern" period end?
This doesn’t have a single global answer! It will vary with the history and context of different regions. There are two good rules of thumb: the year of independence for countries that were formerly colonies; material that is out of copyright. However, as in the case of photographs, the format can be considered modern but the images refer to a pre-modern period. If you have an questions, please contact the EAP team with information about the collection that you have in mind.
Is a music collection produced in the 20th century qualify, if it’s endangered?
If it is unique and on a problematic format. Think of the other criteria when applying. I suggest that you have a look at the Indian recording labels and Syliphone archive that we have funded.
Do you have suggestions for other funds which might work with endangered 20th century materials?
Yes, a new programme is being set up at UCLA also funded by Arcadia. It is called Documenting Global Voices.
At the preliminary stage, what kind of evidence of permissions from collection owners/curators should be included? There is a box for that on the application, but what precisely should appear there?
I would say that submitting formal documentation would only be required at the detailed application stage, but in the preliminary application we want applicants to be aware that the material will go online and it is their responsibility to seek the appropriate permissions.
Is making materials available to scholars the same as making them available to the public? Some archives depend on search fees for funding.
The goal of the EAP is to save endangered archival material and make them open available for research. This focus means that some projects, while otherwise excellent, may not be a good fit for the programme. The British Library will make the outputs of projects openly available for research by scholars and others. This is a key requirement. It does not, however, mean that the local archive cannot provide a priced service that includes access to the content or is driven by its metadata. Such services exist in many domains.
On the project team: Should we be concerned if the largest part of our budget turns out to be salaries for a team (in my case, around 10 people, for example)?
For the EAP project based on Nevis, which used two local staff, that salaries formed the largest single element of the grant. In the past, the Panel have asked applicants to re-budget if they felt that the costs were prohibitive. Also, you should note that if the archive is housed at the host institution, we expect some contribution in-kind. Often this means the salaries of existing permanent staff employed by the host institution.
It says in the application instructions that you do not allow costs for conservation. What if you have documents that require conservation before digitisation?
We cover preservation (archival boxing, Melinex sleeves, dehumidifiers, etc.) to prevent further deterioration, but sadly not conservation. I think if the material needs work of this sort, I suggest you look for other funding before applying to EAP.
When you say that detailed cataloguing should not be part of the project, does this also include database recording for the documents?
You must submit metadata as part of your project outputs. There is a template of the spreadsheet that we use available on the website. The level of description depends on the type of material being digitised, for example, with manuscripts we would expect a description at volume level (file level) and not at page level, but for photographs we would expect a description for each photograph (item level). We plan on introducing webinars for current grant holders regarding cataloguing standards.
Could you please elucidate what differentiates an Area from a Major grant in terms of the amount of material that needs to be digitised? (Reference to paper-based archival material)
There is a considerable range of the amount of material that is digitised in Major grants. We have seen successful Major grants that have produced a few tens of thousands up through nearly a million. In recent years, the average amount of content is about 60K images per project year with 50% of projects delivering between 20K and 120K images per project year (ie, a 2-year project might deliver between 40K and 240K images). The variation partly due to the difficult of local conditions, access, and nature of materials. For example, good quality bound ledgers can be processed quickly and efficiently. Crumbling damaged manuscripts must be handled with great care. That being said, we would expect an Area grant to produce material roughly in proportion to a Major grant, and perhaps derive some economies of scale. So perhaps 60-360K images per project year would be likely.
Is it typically in the range of a pilot project to create a project website that serves the local community (in the local language, mobile-first, designed to be accessible with patchy internet connections)?
Typically not for a pilot project. In cases that it is considered particularly important, a modest contribution could be made toward it. We look to the local archival partner to do much of this though.
Is any training support offered to applicants as a part of this grant?
Look at our website to see if there has been a recent project near to where your proposal is based. The EAP office may be able to put you in touch with someone with local experience which may be useful. We also plan on having future webinars covering various topics. The handbook Remote Capture is also a good resource.
Is EAP giving any legal support against illicit traffic of archival materials? Is there any guidance?
This is not within the scope of EAP. Our ethos is that the material stays in the country of origin and that is why the digitisation is done in situ.
On the preliminary application under ‘Project People and Organisations’, if applying through a host institution, there is no space to describe the experience and past achievements of the principal applicant or team? How do you gauge if the principal investigators have the experience to carry out the project? Is it okay for the principal applicant to complete Q10c and Q10d even if applying through the applicants host institution?
This is dealt with in more depth at the detailed application stage. In the preliminary application, if you are employed by the Host Institution, you only have to answer Question 9.
I thought to apply for a pilot project for: getting permissions from three archives I am in touch with; evaluating the volume and character (hand-written/lithographs/etc.) of the manuscripts applicable for the major project; locating more archives - public and private - that I know are there; putting up the team of technicians and scholars to work for a major project. Does that make sense? Should I include portable scanner to digitise sample texts?
This is a classic Pilot project. Since you mentioned you are looking at manuscripts, a portable scanner would not be appropriate, you would need a camera and portable tripod. Look at the Digital Appendices for Remote Capture, which suggests model types.
Is there any limitation as to the country of main applicant?
No, the important thing is where the material is located.
What is the required form of indicating consent / permission from foreign partners? A written and signed letter of consent in their language and then a translation? Will you honour informal translations or does it have to be a legally binding translation?
As part of the detailed application, we have Grant of Permission forms thatyou are welcome to translate when showing them to foreign partners, but the English version would need to be signed and returned to the EAP office.
What type of organisations/archival partners do not qualify as local institutions? For example: does a local non-profit with a collection of relevant material qualify?
It must be a non-commercial institution, it sounds as if the organisation you have in mind would qualify.
I am interested about how to discern what kind of project for which to apply. We have a website partially constructed. We are a local archive in Serowe, but our internet access is tenuous. We would probably need help make the archival material available from Serowe.
Please refer to Question 23.
Thank you for your helpful advice.... Unfortunately I don't think my archive is eligible for the EAP. Does the British library have a service or a contact I can approach for advice on rehoming a modern archive?
Can we email individual panellists? We are working in Antigua and would love to talk to Andy.
I'm sure Andy would be glad to provide help. Please email [email protected] and we'll pass your request on to him.
Among the accepted applications, is there a typical ratio - are the grants equally distributed among pilot, major and area, or is there a typical distribution in the rate of success?
This is the first time we are offering the area grant. The distribution varies year to year. To date we have had 220 major projects and 130 pilot projects.
I have a question relating specifically to a collection of amateur films (travelogues and documentaries). This is the only surviving collection in the country of origin, so it will be quite valuable to researchers because it will dispel myths about pre-industrial filmmaking in this country. The owner transferred the rights to a team of filmmakers before passing away, but they do not have a way to properly store and digitise them. My question, more specifically, is whether I can submit an application to rescue these films, even though I don’t reside in the country of origin? I should add that this country doesn’t have the institutional framework or infrastructure to pursue this. The team has tried to find a way forward unsuccessfully, but I am able to bring this to fruition from Canada.
We have had several projects where the applicant is outside the country of origin, but it would be important for at least one of the rights owners to be a co-applicant. If you are invited to the detailed application, you would be strongly advised to include the grant of permission forms signed by all of the team members (copyright owners).
In the country of origin there is no institutional framework that can administer the type of collection that needs to be rescued/digitised (all options have been exhausted). Can it be administered from a different country, and then share the digitized archives with the country of origin?
Over the past few months we have made six new projects available to view online through our website. These new collections demonstrate the diverse variety of archives the EAP digitises, and includes eighteenth-century Brazilian royal orders, artwork and photography by Lalit Mohan Sen, colonial archives, Coptic manuscripts and prayer scrolls, war photography, and historic newspapers.
The aim of EAP627 was to digitise the oldest historical documents in the state of Paraíba, Brazil (located in the semi-arid hinterlands and on the humid coastline). The project team successfully digitised 266 historical documents, ranging from 1660 to 1931 and their digitisation resulted in c. 83,000 TIFF images being created. It includes the entire collection of ecclesiastical documents at Paróquia de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres do São João do Cariri (comprised of 54 volumes produced between 1752 and 1931). During digitisation, the team uncovered the original, signed Constitution of Paraíba of 1891 – the first constitution of this state after Brazil was declared a republic in 1889. To the best of their knowledge and research, the project team believes this is the only existing copy of the document. The digital preservation of these documents have already contributed to shifting the historical narrative of the state’s back lands, and will ensure the ongoing possibility of study in the history of Paraíba’s Afro-Brazilian, indigenous, and mestiço populations.
This was a continuation of EAP643, an earlier pilot project. The project team were able to digitise almost all the records discovered in the pilot. The collection includes 1265 manuscripts from Santipur Bangiya Puran Parishad, 78 bound volumes from Santipur Municipality, and 510 images of Lalit Mohan Sen’s artwork and photography. Some of Sen’s work can be seen in this previous EAP blog post.
Kita is an important site in the history of rural slave emancipation in Western Mali (occurring at the turn of the twentieth century). It hosted the highest number of ‘Liberty villages’ (17 in total) following the French conquest (Western Mali was the first region of today’s Mali to be colonised by the French from the 1890s). Liberty villages hosted the slaves of the defeated enemies of the French army. The project team captured this specific history of slavery and emancipation in Kita through digitised reports, correspondence and court registers held in the Cercle archives of Kita. The collection is extensive, ancient and rare in its content, and is of great scholarly significance.
The objective of this project was to digitise and make widely available the manuscripts at the Franciscan monastery of St Saviour in the Old City of Jerusalem. The collection dates from the 12th to the 20th century, and is written in seventeen languages: Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Classical Ethiopic, Coptic (Bohairic & Sahidic), English, French, Old German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Samaritan, Spanish, Syriac and Turkish. The digitised material is remarkably diverse and is a valuable resource for scholars interested in Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions, as well as to linguists and philologists, art historians, and musicologists. The texts contain theological and philosophical treatises, biblical and liturgical books, dictionaries, profane and religious poetry, collections of sermons, pilgrim accounts, and also cooking recipes and magic prayers. Among the books are also rare items, for instance texts written in Armenian and Arabic scripts but in Turkish language, and the fragments of Byzantine manuscripts used for the flyleaves in bindings. A special group is made up by large size liturgical books with musical notations, produced for monastic choirs, as well as precious volumes lavishly decorated and illuminated with miniatures, initials and aniconic ornamentation. Research material of particular value consists of a variety of book covers (leather, textile, metal, decorative cardboards etc.) representing diverse binding methods.
The EAP894 project team digitised two collections of photographs (and other records) from the pre-industrial development era of Bulgaria, covering the period 1880-1930. Colonel Petar Darvingov, the Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army and a commander of the occupation corps in Moravia (now the Czech Republic and Serbia) created the first collection. He captured moments of military action in the Balkans and Central Europe across three wars: the Balkan War, the Second Balkan War, and World War I. Within the collection are a large volume of photos from different fronts – positional photos of infantry and artillery units, fighting marches, frontline parades and prayers, aviation and motorized units, moments from tactical exercises, building of trenches, laying of roads and telephone wires, views of settlements, etc. Preserved are also the portraits, both group and individual, of the entire command staff of the Bulgarian army during the wars. The photographs record not only the military life at the front, but also at the rear – the camps and bivouacs, clothing, supplies, military equipment and everyday life of the Bulgarian soldier. Many of the backs of the photos have explanatory notes about specific events and characters. They include initiations, names and occasionally short biographical data on individual persons etc. The collection also includes military business cards with author´s notes, operational sketches of battlefields, sketches of the Bulgarian headquarters where the Serbian and Bulgarian troops were positioned during the Balkan Wars, stories of warfare during World War I, and sketches of military sites.
The second collection contains photos, cartoons and caricatures created by the renowned artist and photographer Aleksandar Bozhinov. He was one of the first significant cartoonists of the 20th century and a war correspondent. He documented military positions and the social life in the Balkan villages and towns in the time of war – daily life, work, calendar and festive rituals. The sketches and caricatures in the collection are both the originals and those published in albums and newspapers from the early 20th century. Copies of the Bulgarian comic newspaper (authored by Aleksandar Bozhinov) are also preserved in this collection.
This project digitised the Barbados Mercury and Bridgetown Gazette, a newspaper printed in Barbados from 1783 to 1839. The Gazette was printed biweekly and each issue was four pages long. It is the most complete set of the Gazette and the only copies known to exist. The newspaper is crucial for understanding Barbados’ 18th and 19th century history, particularly because these were formative years for the island. The newspaper sheds light on the everyday life of a slaveholding society; Bussa’s 1816 rebellion; and the events that led to the abolition of the slavery on the island (1834). Digitisation of the newspaper offers the opportunity to unearth an untold history of the enslaved people of the island and their resistance in the early nineteenth century. EAP1086 was a collaborative effort between a team of practitioners and scholars, based both in Barbados and abroad. At the end of the project around 2,331 issues were digitised with around 9,000 digital images in total.
17 June is the start of Refugee Week, which takes place every year across the world. The U.K. has a programme of cultural and educational events to celebrate the contribution refugees have made. This year’s theme ‘You, me and those who came before' is ‘an invitation to explore the lives of refugees – and those who have welcomed them – throughout the generations’.
Looking through the Endangered Archives’ collection, I came across a file of photographs taken by Madanmani Dixit, the first photojournalist in Nepal.
The photographs were taken at a refugee camp in Bangai village in 1971, and depict refugees who have escaped the atrocities of the Bangladesh Liberation War. It seemed appropriate at the start of this week to share some of these powerful images on the EAP blog.
To view more images from the file EAP166/1/1/30, please visit the EAP Website.
International Archives Day is celebrated annually on the 9 June – and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give an update on the archives of the United National Independence Party of Zambia (EAP121), a project that was funded in 2007.
The original records are still housed at the archives of UNIP
I think it is safe to say, that not a single month goes by without a request for access to this collection. It is a vital political archive and a key to understanding the struggle for self-governance in Zambia and its ruling party after independence in 1964. However, it is more broadly a primary source for all historians working on modern Zambia and neighbouring countries.
Unfortunately, because we did not know whether the material contained information about living individuals, we had taken the precautionary step of saying the archive could only be made available on site within one of the British Library’s reading rooms.
Inside the archive, with a bust of Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the first President of Zambia (from 1964 to 1991) and the nationalist leader Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula
We consulted researchers who had viewed the material as well as the Library’s Compliance Manager to get current advice on the Data Protection Act 2018. It became obvious that there was no sensitive material held within the files and that none of the material would be ‘likely to cause substantial damage or substantial distress to a data subject’ (section 19 of the Data Protection Act 2018). We therefore made the decision to make the entire United National Independence Party of Zambia collection available online. This now means that you can browse the 3,000 plus files from the comfort of your home or office rather than having to travel to London or Lusaka to visit the archives in person.
To browse the collection, please visit the EAP webite.
I first read about the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) in 2015. I also discovered that EAP had funded several projects in Sri Lanka, ranging from community manuscripts to religious collections. In 2017, I was working for a human rights archive in Sri Lanka, and at a conference on archiving, EAP was discussed at length, particularly with regard to the CAVR archive. Two years later, I was sitting at the nerve centre of the Programme on the fifth floor of the British Library—the world’s largest national library (or as I call it, the brick-lined colossus of the library world).
My arrival at EAP, however, was hardly a matter of chance. A prestigious Chevening scholarship brought me to UCL to read for an MA in Archives and Records Management. When asked by my Programme Director where I would like to head off to for my work placement, EAP was at the very top of my list. I was curious about the nuts and bolts of it all. In my mind, EAP’s mission addressed one aspect of my archival work—the digital preservation of endangered human rights records and heritage material. Any further insight into the Programme—the approaches to archival description, the development of metadata and the types of software utilised—would expand my own archival tool-shed.
There were a few other factors that influenced my decision. The British Library’s position as an authority in librarianship and archival management is widely recognised. Throughout the MA programme at UCL, I had numerous interactions with the Library. One thing that struck me at the time, perhaps unsurprisingly, was that the spirit of openness, intellectual exchange and collaboration appeared to be embedded in the Library’s internal culture. From the Sound Archive and the Oral History team to Digital Preservation and Collections Care, the Library’s practitioners, partners and thought leaders were always generous with their time, hospitable to archival neophytes such as myself and open to exchanges that challenged and shaped my understanding of archival praxis.
It wasn’t much of a surprise when I walked into a similar environment at EAP. Over the course of two weeks, Jody Butterworth, Graham Jevon and Rob Miles made sure I was exposed to as much of EAP as possible. I was immersed in EAP’s archival workflow; running through metadata processing, sitting through meetings on technical developments and learning about EAP’s plans for the future. In the midst of this very serious work, there were plenty of vivifying interludes—for example, the Library’s 21st Century talks—where new research on OCR was presented and discussed—and a guided tour of the Imaging Studio—where I stood enthralled at the various uses of multispectral imaging. During the second week of my placement, I was able to work on a digitised collection from Sri Lanka, specifically the manuscripts and records of the Bishop’s House in Jaffna, some of which date back to the 16th century. All in all, it was a privilege to participate in efforts to make the collection accessible to researchers around the world.
On my last day at EAP, as I was browsing through the images of the collection, I recognised a name. I had just stumbled upon a letter written by my great-aunt, Louise Nugawela, who was married to Major E. A. Nugawela, the Minister of Education in the first Cabinet of Independent Ceylon. I believe the letter (reproduced below) is addressed to the Bishop of Jaffna, inviting him to join them for dinner on the 26th of June, 1948.
The discovery was a fitting way to end my work placement. My sincere thanks for an immensely rewarding experience at EAP. I hope the Programme goes from strength to strength in the years to come.
Nigel Nugawela is a Chevening Scholar at UCL, where he is reading for an MA in Archives and Records Management. His full profile can be viewed here.
Lalit Mohan Sen (1898-1954) was an Indian artist born in West Bengal. Despite having a successful career working within the world of art and being a prolific artist in his own lifetime, relatively little is known about him today.
Sen graduated from the government School of Art in Lucknow in 1917, and then went on to study at London’s Royal College of Art in 1925. In 1931, he was one of ten artists hired to decorate the newly built India House in London. His artistic career included periods as an art teacher, commercial artist, landscape artist and photographer.
EAP781/1/7/1/10. A dancing figurine
Sen’s work has been displayed in Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Royal Collections, his work has also been in exhibitions at the Royal Academy and the Exhibition of Photographic Art. In 2018, his art was chronicled in the exhibition “Unravelling a Modern Master: The Art of Lalit Mohan Sen (1898-1954), which took place at Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata.
EAP781/1/7/1/30. Portrait of a woman, Bhird Kheri, U.P
EAP781/1/7/1/18. A seated man in a headress
Sen’s art spans a range of media, which include painting, sculpture, sketches, photography, textiles, printmaking, pen and ink, and posters encouraging tourism in India. His work encapsulates a variety of subjects, such as animals, deities, abstract design, portraiture, landscapes, nature and nudes. Much of his work has not only artistic value, but cultural, as they capture early twentieth century Indian dress, people and performance. Although his art focuses primarily on India, his body of work also shows interest in European landscapes and figures.
EAP781/1/7/1/12. Pot O Ghot
EAP781/1/7/1/235. Dance performance
From our project EAP781, “Santipur and its neighbourhood: text and image production history from early modern Bengal through public and private collections”, our archives now contain over 500 digitised images of Sen’s art. These images demonstrate the diverse range of Sen’s artistic abilities.
Browsing through Sen’s body of work reveals the proficiency he had in creating art in different forms. It is fascinating to scroll through the collection of digitised images, and see how his artistic style remained distinct within each medium yet seemed to change quite considerably when working with another medium. In all, this collection of Sen’s work is a great source for research, inspiration and enjoyment.
EAP781/1/7/1/139. Block design of Saree
EAP781/1/7/1/153. Brass work in the shape of a face - used as an ashtray
In December 2018, we completed the digitisation of The Barbados Mercury Gazette, funded through EAP1086. We have previously written about different stages of the project, such as the start and the digitisation training. In addition, on February 1, 2019, the Barbados Archives held an event to celebrate the launch of the digitised newspaper online. You can see information and images about this event here.
In this post, two members of the digitisation team, Brian Inniss and Lenora Williams, discuss their thoughts about and experience during the digitisation process.
Conserving the Mercury Newspaper at the Barbados Archives
My name is Brian Inniss and I am the Senior Archive Technical Assistant at the Barbados Department of Archives. I am attached to the Conservation Unit which is comprised of myself and two other individuals who handle the care, conservation and preservation of the collections at the archives and the buildings that house them. Our part in the Mercury digitisation project was to prepare the volumes for digitisation. The following are some details on our process.
Brian Inniss, Senior Archives Technical Assistant, preparing the Mercury for digitisation.
An important part of any digitisation project is preparation. The preparation for digitisation meant dis-bounding the bound volumes and doing all that was necessary to stabilise them, making it easier for the digitisation team to handle them. Volumes were carefully collected from storage and transferred to the lab for assessment and disassembly. Disassembling the bound newspaper was a first for the team. Working with these volumes in this way gave us more experience with techniques from the 1800s. It was truly exciting to see original loop and stab stitch that were used for many of these volumes.
The Barbados Mercury Gazette being disbound at the Conservation Department
The project was not without some challenges. All the material in this collection was well over 150 years old, some exceeding 200 years old, and over time, even with the best care at the archives, had become very brittle. Some newspaper issues were made brittle by various derogating factors such as acid-catalysed hydrolysis, oxidation, and insects (bookworms) and humidity. It was this deterioration that first inspired the project. Safely removing the pages, while minimising the damage which could lead to loss of vital information, was labour-intensive and required further research and ingenuity, but we were successful in the end.
After preparation by the conservation unit, these unbound volumes were secured between sheets of blotting paper so they could be transported safely to the digitisation unit to be digitised. After digitisation, these volumes will be bound and safely housed back in the repository for preservation.
This was truly an experience to behold and assisted in the further enhancing of our skills in dealing with paper of different grades and texture. Hopefully the Archives will have more opportunities like this and we will enthusiastically participate as we look toward the future.
Working with The Barbados Mercury Gazette as the Project Assistant was a capacity building experience. Of the many experiences, working with photography equipment for digitisation was the most exciting. Having previous experience in photography and a love for landscape photography, it was a chance to focus on another subject – paper.
Jennifer Breedy, Archives Assistant, and Lenora Williams, Mercury Digitisation Project Assistant, working to digitise a fragile page
The day to day requirements of the project required concentration and timing. It also demanded a high level of attention to detail and forethought to see a product that researchers can utilise. The set up was partially comprised of a copy stand and a Nikon D810 DSRL Camera. These technical aspects included creating even lighting, understanding just how subtle changes can impact on the image quality and understanding how the positioning of the subject can be as important in the end of product. This was one of our most challenging parts of the process, but a vital part in meeting the guidelines set out in the grant. Most of what I know about lighting a subject now comes from the intricacies of the FADGI standards.
Lenora Williams, Project Assistant
Timothy Sealy, Archives Technical Assistant, assisting the digitisation team
Over the first few months the daily process became familiar and even welcome. It was then that the team would meet one of our most memorable challenges yet. As an archives user, I know the disappointment of being told a book or pamphlet is closed, but never fully appreciated what that actually means until I handled issues from the 1812 and 1813 of this collection. Careful consideration was placed into transferring the material from the conservation department to the room where the digitisation process was being carried out and the special training and instruction given to the team on handling these delicate issues. Even with careful handling, these pages crumbled. They seemed to dissolve right by merely existing and it was then that the real importance of this project made its impact to all involved.
The more you interact with the material the more one can gain an appreciation of 1700-1800 Barbados. The Mercury Newspaper opens up 18th and 19th century Barbados though the eyes of a select, literate few. The newspaper as a resource sheds light on the way they saw themselves and the ideals they held for country, their businesses and themselves. I began seeing their words and exploring the similarities and differences of Barbados then and now. One great example is the newspaper itself. At present, several media houses publish a daily newspaper that has some 10 pages or more with cleverly merged articles. The Mercury newspaper as evidenced by this collection, was published twice per week usually around 3 or 4 pm.
It was striking to find that Barbadians then were no less materialistic. For example, one feature of the Mercury is the considerable number of advertisements each issue contains; sometimes taking up a large percentage of any given page. Many subscribers through the years give detailed lists of items for sale.
The newspaper will surely be most noted for its information on enslaved persons. Subheadings of “Absconded” or “A reward” preceded such notices which often give an avid description including occupation, location and family connections of enslaved person. Related information includes regular updates of the list of enslaved persons in the cage and owners. Uploading this resource into an open platform with free access to the full content will encourage users to engage with the content at their convenience.
I am thankful for the opportunity to work in this Endangered Archives Programme grant, and I look forward to being involved in other such projects in the future.
To see more images from the conservation and digitisation of the Mercury, please see here.
Written by Lenora Williams, Brian Inniss and Amalia S. Levi