After a few weeks' break, some of our students have returned to university, giving up part of their summer vacation to complete an extra module. Ashley, Tom and Izzy are here for three weeks, preparing for a big event which is happening at the end of August.
I'll let them tell you more:
Ash:When we returned to the archive for the summer module there were many items that required alterations to their catalogue entries. Before we left for the summer holidays a new system had been created which inserted another sub-level into the category of ‘BSU_2’ items - the institutional documents.
As the institutional documents comprised the largest section of our collection by far, it was decided that they needed to be divided up for the sake of organisation. Six groups were devised in order to sort out the collection; BSU_2_1 for Bath College of Domestic Science, BSU_2_2 for Newton Park College, BSU_2_3 for Bath College of Education, BSU_2_4 for Bath Spa University College and Bath Spa University and BSU_2_5 for Bath Academy of Art. Our aim for creating these sub-categories was to ensure that individual documents and items will become easier to locate.
What this meant was that all of the catalogue entries had to be printed out (in red ink due to a shortage of black!) for the edits to be made. Whilst doing this, it was felt that two birds should be killed with one stone and we simultaneously checked for errors and omissions in the catalogue and then corrected and completed them. The end process would be a catalogue sheet that had a fuller description of the item and an updated reference number. These catalogue sheets were then tucked into the boxes where their corresponding items with were kept with a pink sticky label, ready for the final step.
After the rough alterations were made on the printed catalogue sheets they then needed to be typed out on to the catalogue entries on Google Drive on which they are stored electronically. Once this had been completed, the pink sticky label would then be marked with a tick so we knew that the box was completed. Over the course of the first week, everything was edited both physically and electronically and has now been returned to the shelf. Its a long process, but satisfying when you see the end result. Its also helped us to find the items we need for the Alumni Reunion weekend, which Tom describes below.
Tom: The paramount event of our Summer Module will be the Bath Spa University Archive exhibition at the Alumni Reunion weekend. The alumni event will be bringing back numerous former students to the Newton Park Campus; the heart of the university. The Archive has been dedicated to the preservation of our history and has been steadily accumulating a wealth of documents and artefacts from the past institutions from which we grew.The alumni presents us with a unique opportunity to interact with the human elements of our history and we hope to trigger a few memories
The "how" of our exhibition at the Alumni event is still in the creation process. It is important remember that the guest list includes students who graduated from 2014 all the way back to 1955, and that most of the guests would have studied in now defunct institutions such as the Bath College of Domestic Science, Bath College of Higher Education and Bath Academy of Art, which have been amalgamated into a single institution over the decades. This presents us with the challenge of trying to make our exhibition relevant to a wide range of ages and experiences.
So far, we have found photographs, prospectuses, paintings, newspaper cuttings and more from our collection of hundreds of catalogued items and documents. The emphasis for which items we shall display will revolve around student experience rather than administrative work, so our display can resonate with the former students.
Finally, we have also got a leaflet for our exhibition under way, currently we have been acquiring resources electronically to use for it, So far we have acquired numerous antiquated photographs to be used to improve the aesthetic qualities of our leaflet. We intend to advertise the archive (in the hope that some ex-students might want to donate any of their old items to the Archive) as well as give a brief overview of the various previous institutions which are part of our history. Above all the leaflet is designed to advertise the archive and will be geared towards welcoming the former students into a trip down memory lane.
Izzy: Aside
from our primary focus of designing the exhibition, we were able to put into
practice our archiving skills by cataloguing new items under the new system.
Due to the excess number of items stored under the institution, it was
necessary to introduce additional codes in order to differentiate each establishment
involved. The team sorted through a number of portfolios and logged photographs
and documents under their new allocated codes. These particular files included
material relating to the institution; namely relating to the Domestic Science
College.
A
personal collection was donated also donated to us; so Ashley, Kate and I
carried out a ‘scoping exercise’ in order to gain an overview of what documents
and information were included. They belonged to Professor Graham Davis as part
of his research into Newton Park, and will eventually be stored in ‘Personal
Collections’.
For
myself in particular, a new experience arose to suddenly be advised to be mindful
of insects that could potentially harm various materials throughout the
archive. We experienced first hand the damage imposed by an unidentified
creature, and even came across a silverfish in one of the folders.
It’s
been an interesting contrast to my previous archive experience, as I had not carried
out any cataloguing tasks in the second year module. The planning involved with
setting up the Alumni Reunion Weekend had been the most enjoyable element,
especially when coming across names of those attending whilst going through
archive material. Sorting through old photographs of students and institutions
is personally my favourite aspect of working in the Bath Spa University
Archive.
Izzy Watkins, Ash Catt, Tom Buckingham
3rd Year History students
