Lost folk tales come to light in the notebooks of Scottish tax collector

"Lost tales of a Hebridean Atlantis, magical water horses, and Robert Burns’ murderous ancestors have been uncovered in a major study of Scotland’s foremost Victorian folklorist that has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

For the first time the notebooks of Alexander Carmichael, a man compared to Germany’s Brothers Grimm, have been transcribed, catalogued, indexed and imaged. They have been made available online by the University of Edinburgh’s Special Collections.

The publication is the third part of the Carmichael Watson Project, a decade-long project to unlock one of the world's major folklore resources.

Working as a tax collector on Lewis, Argyll, Uist and the West Highlands from 1860, Carmichael spent 50 years collecting legends, songs, curses, charms, prayers, and oral history from Gaelic-speakers. In total Carmichael spoke to more than 400 individuals, filling 28 notebooks full of tales. He recorded the names, ages, occupations and locations of almost everyone he met.

Carmichael used his notes for his masterwork, Carmina Gadelica. Published in 1900 it was a seminal work within the Celtic Twilight movement of the time. Yet it is estimated that only a tenth of the work collected made it into the book.

The AHRC award has allowed researchers and archivists to spend two years deciphering and transcribing Carmichael’s notoriously bad handwriting. They have uncovered hundreds of unpublished stories including tales of the Green Island, the Hebridean version of the Atlantis myth, the giant Finn McCool, and magical water horses. 

One historical account records a new date for the last sighting of the Great Auk, a now extinct, oversized bird that resembled a penguin. Reputedly last seen in Iceland in 1844, Carmichael records the sighting of one in St Kilda four years later. It met its demise when islanders believed it was possessed by a demon and beat it to death.

Dr Donald William Stewart, senior researcher for the Carmichael Watson Project, said: “For over fifty years, Alexander Carmichael tirelessly, even obsessively, recorded the culture, lore, and beliefs of his native Scottish Highlands. By the end of his life in 1912, he was both Celtic guru and folklore jukebox, the internationally-recognised authority on Scottish Gaelic songs, stories, traditions, and beliefs. Carmichael’s voluminous papers, now preserved in Edinburgh University Library, form one of the foremost folklore collections in the world.”

Users of the new resource will also be able to search the catalogue for names of individuals who shared stories, or were mentioned in tales. For example, individuals who trace their family tree to Uist can search for mentions of their ancestors within Carmichael’s notebooks.

The website (www.carmichaelwatson.lib.ed.ac.uk) was launched in conjunction with a two-day conference 'Alexander Carmichael: Collecting, Controversy and Contexts' and an exhibition, ‘Unlocking the Celtic Collector’, is running in the University Library until 22 July."

Papers of Sci Fi Author Theodore Sturgeon bequeathed to The University of Kansas

‘The University of Kansas will be hoping Theodore Sturgeon's famous maxim that "90 per cent of everything is crap" does not apply to his own work after the papers of the legendary science fiction author were donated to its library.

The collection donated to the University of Kansas by his family is valued at $600,000 (£375,000), and includes the original manuscript of his most famous novel More Than Human, his notes for a Star Trek episode and his correspondence with fellow authors, from Isaac Asimov to Robert Heinlein and Harlan Ellison, in which Sturgeon shared story ideas and drafts with his contemporaries….’

Full text of article by Alison Flood from the Guardian website.

Archiving Every Language Ever Spoken: The Rosetta Project

The Rosetta Project is a programme of The Long Now Foundation—a project which sets out to document every human language currently in use in the creation of a contemporary Rosetta Stone. The idea behind the archival venture is to create a publicly accessible digital library of human languages in collaboration with language specialists and native speakers.

The Rosetta list totals some 7,000 languages, all of which the project hopes to protect from disappearance without documentation through preservation on the Rosetta Disk. The Disk currently holds 13,000 microetched pages of word lists from 1,500 languages. The Rosetta website describes the project as The Long Now Foundation’s ‘ first exploration into very long-term archiving. It serves as a means to focus attention on the problem of digital obsolescence, and ways we might address that problem through creative archival storage methods.’

The three inch Disk features nearly 14,000 pages of microscopically etched information, able to be read by the human eye using optical magnification. The disk functions as a keystone for parallel archived information stored by the project as part of the Internet Archive.

The project organisers will be holding a ‘Record-a-thon’ on 30^th of July in San Francisco, where video capture of live speakers in the Bay area will hope to archive evidence of more than a 100 languages through the telling of stories and conversations.

Recordings of spoken languages will be captured ideally in video, which, as director Laura Welcher explains, offers a ‘richer source of language information--it also documents context (to help with what the speaker is talking about, or pointing to), speech participants (like a conversation, or public speaking event), as well as the speaker's body and facial gestures.’

Interviewed by email for FastCompany.com, Welcher explained the intended use of this kind of archived data for researchers: ‘A corpus can be used in many different ways--a small corpus can provide language learning and teaching materials, as well as materials for the building of linguistic resources such as grammars and dictionaries (this is the kind of language documentation linguists are producing today). Then, with a larger corpus--say tens of hours of transcribed speech, we can start building acoustic models for speech recognition. With a few million words we can start to do machine translation. And these are the tools that enable a language to be used online--which I would argue is a crucial new domain for language use in the modern world.’

For a full transcription of the interview and article by Matthew Battles, click here.

NATO Archives release declassified Cold War files

"The NATO Archives is proud to announce the public disclosure of the documents on the NATO planning for a Berlin emergency during the Cold War. The files, consisting of close to four hundred declassified Council documents and correspondence spanning the years 1961 to 1968, present a treasure trove of information for researchers, librarians, students and anyone with an interest in the political and military history of this era.

The release of these documents on the NATO Archives website marks the first time that declassified and publicly disclosed NATO files will be presented on the Internet for consultation and download. (www.nato.int/archives/berlin)

The public disclosure of these NATO documents also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall. It was only towards the end of 1961 that the Alliance decided to play a more active role. The North Atlantic Council tasked the NATO Military Authorities to draft a series of top secret contingency plans to prepare for the possibility of a Berlin Emergency. SACEUR’s Berlin Contingency (BERCON) Plans involved ground and air actions along the access routes and air corridors to Berlin, and also included the possible demonstrative use of nuclear weapons. SACLANT’s Maritime Contingency (MARCON) Plans proposed putting pressure on the Soviet bloc though worldwide maritime measures.

To celebrate this release, the NATO Archives has organized a series of events to commemorate this pivotal moment of the Cold War: a screening of the 1962 NATO-produced film ‘Background to Berlin’, a seminar featuring presentations by noted historians, a commemorative booklet, and in cooperation with the German Delegation at NATO, a multimedia exhibition focusing on the Berlin Crisis, the Wall and the Allied Response. The exhibition opens on 22 June 2011, with the official opening ceremony taking place on 23 June 2011 at 13h.

For online access to these documents on Berlin, as well as other forthcoming documents please visit the NATO Archives website at: www.nato.int/archives.

 

For complete access to the thousands of other declassified documents that have been publicly disclosed, researchers and others interested in the history of the Organization are welcome to visit the NATO Archives Reading Room at NATO HQ in Brussels."

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-F6399F89-E68E41C1/natolive/news_75578.htm

Data Visualisation: blog as a word archive

I am currently drafting an outline around digital archives (one can dream), and in the process of pondering the application of visualisation tools for archive and the digital humanities, I wondered what our little blog would look like on Wordle. Turns out we strongly favour the words 'special', 'one' and 'click' alongside the more obvious variations on 'archive'!

Book Preservation: The New ‘Physical Archive’ of the Internet Archive

The founder of the Internet Archive—the non-profit organisation created in 1996 to build an internet library—recently announced the official launch of "the Physical Archive of the Internet Archive." The IA original dispersed the books it collected for digitization through donation, but is now shifting to storing and preserving them in state-of-the-art facilities, soliciting new donations in an effort to obtain “one copy of everything ever published”, with current storage at 450,000 items.

This Physical Archive reflects some of the effects of digitization projects in its response to the increasing number of library books moved to repositories to make space for meeting and working spaces, and the throwing out of original library texts in the wake of digitized Google versions. Founder Brewster Kahle explains that the Physical Archive seeks to preserve original copies for future researchers and readers, underscoring the importance of maintaining physical archiving in a digital era.

For a report from Libraryjournal.com, click here; for an article by Kahle explaining the impetus behind the Physical Archive in full, click here.

Questions from #AskArchivists day!

A couple of places have noted the questions they were asked and it makes interesting reading! Here are two examples. In other news the University of Exeter Heritage Collections and Culture Services which includes Special Collections, the Bill Douglas Centre and Arts & Culture are now on twitter! Follow them @UoEHeritageColl

The Bodleian
 http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about/exhibitions/ask-archivists/askarchivists-q-and-a

We have compiled our Twitter answers to #AskArchivists Day questions here; you can find further #AskArchivists Day questions and responses by searching Twitter for the hashtag #AskArchivists.

Q: We're a music archive and we're curious: Which of all archives participating in #AskArchivists Day have music in their collections?
A: We do, although our music curator is unavailable today. See our music pages for a bit of basic info.

Q: To all #archives - What are your main reasons for #digitisation? #Genealogy? Preservation?
A: Lots - preservation and expanding access 2 big ones. See our digital collections pages for some examples.

Q: What's your favourite item in your archive?
A: The OU archivist says his favourite item is 1636 Uni statutes issued by Archbishop Laud.

Q: What's the most underused UK resource for research into everyday life in the Middle Ages?
A: Local land documents in county archives, for brave readers with high boredom thresholds?

Q: What's the biggest influence that your archive has had on public life?
A: We work hard to acquire, preserve & share archives of international value - from political to personal!
A: Our Conservative Party Archive helps promote democracy & encourage political accountability

Q: Is there a book or blog to explain how to use archives? E.g. when I don't know what box to order bec. I only know the topic.
A: Best way: look @ catalogue if available or email for advice - see our Special Collections catalogues & Special Collections 'Planning a Visit' for more info

Q: It's #AskArchivists day (involving our very own @bodleianlibs) - any tips from those in the field for aspiring archivists?
A: Get experience! Volunteering is great and helps you know if it's a career for you
A: From a modern papers archivist: Do research on job/institution. Be enthusiastic & positive!
A: From our CPA archivist: Read NRA email list for topical issues & to show awareness

Q: Are you doing any digitalisation of old books/diaries? If so, how extensive and how will it be accessible?
A: We do lots - see our digital collections pages and also most recent project Shelley-Godwin Archive

Q: What do you find is your biggest challenge as a modern-day archivist?
A: We have many, but one is what to do with digital formats (& analog!) Projects like @beamtweet are exploring!

Q: Entice me... I'm looking into privies of London, c10th-c15th (not literally looking into, of course). What might you have?
A: That's tough! Working on it - will update. For now, The Royal Palaces of Tudor England has info on high status royal privies
Alas no privy but prison, still enticing we hope: an image of The Clink, 1580, by Stephan Batman

Q: Is the Gehenna Press archive catalogued? We have some lovely Leonard Baskin/Ted Hughes items here at Exeter
A: We're working on Gehenna material, hoping to finish later this year. We do have a few images of the archive's arrival
(Question from our archive at Exeter! @UoEHeritageColl)

Q: Digital storage media suggestions for easier future migration?
A: Tough question. If you're sensible w storage and refresh often, files generally OK but ... Format is a bigger issue. Have a look at 'Sustainability of Digital Formats' from @librarycongress for some info.

Q: What are the Bod's plans for digitizing its catalogues of Western manuscripts?
A: We add new collection catalogues regularly (see Special Collections pages); others are goals but depend on time/funding

Q: Given space and logistics, I suppose you can't take on every archive you get offered. How do you decide which to preserve?
A: We have priorities/collection policy, but hard to say no to something good - often depends on how it fits with what we already have

Q: What is the best part of being an archivist?
A: Uncovering little bits of history no one knew (or remembered) existed!


The Smithsonian

http://blog.photography.si.edu/2011/06/13/summary-of-askarchivists-day-at-the-smithsonian/

The tweets started coming in fast and furious early that morning. Many wanted to know more about the archival profession and the education and training needed to be an archivist.
We have lots of resources about how to get a job; types of archive and museum jobs history buffs would enjoy; and information about what archivists and photo archivists do.

 

Q: do you have any advice for recent grads who want to pursue archiving?

A: http://ow.ly/5dSRf & http://ow.ly/5dSRg should get you started. Follow up ?s welcome anytime. Thanks! (RCW)

Q: Do uHav #DigitalArchivists &do they wk closely w/ IT or archives workers? Any idea of bg & training?

A: LSF: I am one, & we wrk closely w/SI IT. More than basics of computers, systems, sftwre. Coding sklls a+.

Q:Any advice or tips on curating exhibits w/ archive materials-how to display, preserve, document?

A: Respect archival context. Across the pond has an exhaustive document for display: http://ow.ly/5e9sw (RCW)

Q: What do you suggest for collections that require a confidentiality/privacy arrangement with the researcher?

A: LSF: Here's our policy for restricted collections: http://ow.ly/5eead

 

Q: is photocopying worse for preservation of paper docs than photographing them using a flash?
A:Yes. Digital photo or scan for unlimited re-purposing and only 1 traumatic experience for the paper. (RCW)

Exeter Arts Week: In the Archive with Daphne Du Maurier

As part of Exeter Arts Week, a special event is running at the University entitled 'In the Archive with Daphne Du Maurier.' This timely workshop chimes with the new discovery of her paintings, and offers an opportunity to see manuscripts of her most famous works including Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, led by Acting Head of Special Collections and Reclamation panelist Christine Faunch.
The event takes place on Monday 13th June, 11am - 12:30pm, Seminar A/B Research Commons, University of Exeter.
Booking is essential and can be made my telephone or email. Please click on the link above for the Arts Weeks brochure for details.

Du Maurier paintings to go on display

Paintings created by author Daphne Du Maurier are being put on public display for the first time, more than 20 years after her death.

The artworks were created during a turbulent period in her life, and only now have her family allowed the collection to be seen.

BBC news have a video report on their website, which features interviews with Du Maurier's son and Exeter's Professor Helen Taylor (one of our two Reclamation keynotes from back in October).

Helen remarks on Du Maurier's painting as an escape from writer's block, explaining that the author 'went into her little hut in the grounds of Menabilly where she was living, and instead of writing, which is what everyone thought she was doing, she was painting.'

Lost Conan Doyle novel to be published

"After languishing unpublished for almost 130 years, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first novel is set to be released for the first time this autumn. [...]


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/06/lost-conan-doyle-novel-narrative-john-smith?CMP=twt_gu

"As you might expect with the creator of Sherlock Holmes, there's a bit of a mystery around the manuscript," said Rachel Foss, lead curator of modern literary manuscripts at the British Library, which is publishing the 150-page book in November. "He wrote it in 1883 and 1884, when he was starting to try to establish himself in the medical profession and as a writer. He sent it to a publisher, but it got lost in the post, so he decided to try and redo it from memory. The manuscript we have is the novel as reconstructed from memory, and it stops around chapter six."

The book, said Foss, is "fairly loose in terms of plot and character", but it does provide "some hints towards the Sherlock Holmes stories to come". John Smith's housekeeper, Mrs Rundle, for example, "can be seen as a prototype for the garrulous Mrs Hudson, Sherlock Holmes's landlady".

"It gives a really fascinating insight into the early stages of [Conan Doyle's] development as a writer – his apprenticeship period ... It represents his first attempt to make the transition from short story writer to novelist," she said. "It demonstrates that there are still things we can learn about him.""