We'd like to wish everyone connected with ARMMS and CAIS a very happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous 2014.
Friday, 20 December 2013
Happy Christmas!
We'd like to wish everyone connected with ARMMS and CAIS a very happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous 2014.
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Caroline's new book
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Congratulations to CAIS students
Graduation at CAIS. Last week was the November graduation ceremony for the School of Humanities at the University of Dundee. Twenty-four Centre for Archive and Information Studies students graduated with either a Certificate, Diploma or Masters and we'd like to send congratulations to all of them.
This picture shows Alison Smith who graduated from the Family History Programme, and Leanne Templeton and Carol Hollywood from the Archive and Records Management programme with family members and CAIS staff on a chilly Dundee morning. We were particularly impressed that Leanne and Carol had come all the way from Canada to receive their degrees.
Congratulations again to everyone who graduated from CAIS staff and tutors!
Monday, 7 October 2013
Archivist comes full circle
We're pleased to welcome a new member of staff to ARMMS, or, in this case, welcome back a former member of the team. Dr Jan Merchant takes up her post as Senior Archivist today, having previously been the Assistant Archivist at Perth and Kinross Council Archive. However, prior to that post Jan worked with us in various roles, latterly as Project Archivist for the Drawn Evidence project of the early 2000s.
Jan has a PhD from the University of Dundee and was one of the first students to undertake CAIS' Archives and Records Management programme by online distance learning, graduating in 2006. She is a CAIS Hon Teaching Fellow and has taught the module 'Archive Services, Access and Preservation' and supervised dissertations.
We're delighted that Jan is rejoining ARMMS after her extended sojourn in Perth and look forward to benefiting from her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.
Saturday, 5 October 2013
Storify - online responses to the 'Burden or Benefit?' conference
We've tried to capture some of the responses to yesterday's conference using Storify. If you weren't able to make it to Dundee you can get a flavour of how the day unfolded and some of the issues discussed here:
Burden or Benefit? New developments in information rights, communication and compliance
CAIS' latest conference, organised jointly with the Centre for Freedom of Information in the University's School of Law, took place yesterday and was a great success.
The attendees heard presentations from three information commissioners, a former information commissioner, the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, a Caldicott Guardian, an expert in the use of social technologies in business and a University Records Manager.
All the speakers were keen to engage with the themes of the conference and explore the tensions between developing information rights law, the need for openness and accountability, the protection of individual privacy and the potential burdens and benefits for organisations trying to cope with these competing demands.
It was a fantastic day and we would like to extend our thanks to all our speakers, chairs, attendees and colleagues who helped make the day so enjoyable and valuable.
The attendees heard presentations from three information commissioners, a former information commissioner, the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, a Caldicott Guardian, an expert in the use of social technologies in business and a University Records Manager.
All the speakers were keen to engage with the themes of the conference and explore the tensions between developing information rights law, the need for openness and accountability, the protection of individual privacy and the potential burdens and benefits for organisations trying to cope with these competing demands.
It was a fantastic day and we would like to extend our thanks to all our speakers, chairs, attendees and colleagues who helped make the day so enjoyable and valuable.
 |
| L-R Christopher Graham, UK Information Commissioner, Kevin Dunion, former Scottish Information Commissioner and Hon Prof, School of Law, Rosemary Agnew, Scottish Information Commissioner, Euan Semple, author and social business expert and Ken Macdonald, Assistant UK Information Commissioner (Scotland and NI) |
Friday, 30 August 2013
Conference announcement - Benefit or burden? New developments in information rights, communication and compliance
We are delighted to announce a joint conference between CAIS and the University's Centre for Freedom of Information, to be held 4 October 2013. It will include, for the first time at the same event, contributions from Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, Rosemary Agnew, the Scottish Information Commissioner and Tim Ellis, Chief Executive, National Records of Scotland. Euan Semple, author of 'Organisations don't tweet - people do', will deliver a keynote on the changing relationship between organisations, people, information and communication.
The conference will explore the developments in the enforcement and extension of information legislation, the implications of new forms of communication for organisations and the role of records management in a changing regulatory and operational environment. This is an essential event for practitioners and researchers concerned with freedom of information, data protection and records and information management.
To download a copy of the programme and booking form please click here. An e-booking facility will be available from next week. Booking forms (including requests for invoices) can be posted to Mrs Vikki Watson, School of Law, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN or emailed to centrefoi@dundee.ac.uk. We will look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Dundee in October.
The conference will explore the developments in the enforcement and extension of information legislation, the implications of new forms of communication for organisations and the role of records management in a changing regulatory and operational environment. This is an essential event for practitioners and researchers concerned with freedom of information, data protection and records and information management.
To download a copy of the programme and booking form please click here. An e-booking facility will be available from next week. Booking forms (including requests for invoices) can be posted to Mrs Vikki Watson, School of Law, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN or emailed to centrefoi@dundee.ac.uk. We will look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Dundee in October.
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
E-ARMMS 22 - April/May 2013
The regular newsletter from Archive, Records Management and Museum Services (ARMMS) and the Centre for Archive and Information Studies (CAIS) at the University of Dundee.
In this edition:
1. Democratising or privileging: the future of access to archives
Our ‘Democratising or privileging: the future of access to archives’ conference was staged in Dundee on 25th and 26th April. The event saw delegates from across the world gather to listen to a range of excellent papers from archivists, historians and archival users, which prompted some fascinating discussions. We were delighted with the positive feedback we received from attendees and are looking forward to our next conference in 2014.
2. Peter Randall-Page sculpture
The university is to have its first major piece of public sculpture as part of the Art Fund RENEW project that curator Matthew Jarron is leading to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson. To supplement the Art Fund grant, Matthew has succeeded in securing £15,000 from the National Fund for Acquisitions to complete the purchase of 'In the Beginning' by internationally renowned sculptor Peter Randall-Page. The piece will be sited in the link entrance between the Carnelley Building and the Old Medical School and should be installed in the near future.
3. Grove Academy Visit
Jennifer and Keren recently went to Grove Academy School to look at their archive material and advise them on how best to store the items. They had several interesting items including daily registers dating back to 1889, photographs and magazines produced by the pupils from the 1970's onwards. They took some conservation items with them including acid free paper and envelopes to give them an idea on how to store the materials. It was a really productive visit and hopefully a good first approach with a view to extending our outreach programme.
4.Dundee Redevelopment Photographs
With the redevelopment of Dundee’s waterfront well under way, Kenneth has continued to take photographs of the various on-going works in the area. This project has been in progress since last January and so far has focused on the work to remove Tayside House. By doing this, we will ensure that we have a photographic collection which documents the major changes to this area of the city. This will complement existing photographic collections which document the massive changes to Dundee in the late nineteenth century and in the 1960s.
5. New accessions
Archive Services continues to receive new material. The last few weeks have seen accessions of material relating to traditional songs, new items for the Michael Bolik Collection and University of Dundee prospectuses and other promotional material for prospective students. We anticipate that all of these items will be of interest to a number of readers.
6. Tree of Liberty
The competition for Interior & Environmental Design students to design a garden area around the new Tree of Liberty outside DJCAD has now finished and the students presented their design proposals to the judging panel. Matthew was one of the judges and was very impressed by the range and quality of the submissions. Four entries have been shortlisted and are now being considered by Estates & Buildings for practicability and affordability before the winning design is chosen and implemented.
7. Digital Doctor Day
On Wednesday 8th May, Jennifer attended a ‘Digital Doctor Day’ held by the Archives and Records Association at the National Records of Scotland. The short seminar looked at archival digitisation projects. Rob Mildren and Robin Urquhart started off by talking about how the NRS started digitisation in 1998-99 with the Scottish Archive Network which was originally more of an online exhibition that soon highlighted the fact that users wanted to see whole volumes scanned and made available online. Ashley Beamer, Web Projects Manager at RCAHMS, then spoke about a couple of digitisation projects she has been involved in; Britain from Above and Scotland’s Places. Next Robin showed us a sample volume and got us to think about the issues around scanning it for publication on a website. Finally we were shown round the Digital Imaging Unit by Paul Riley, the Index and Imaging Team Leader. This busy unit has some pretty high tech equipment which, as their leaflet states, ‘Since obtaining them in October 2009, they have enabled us to triple out output’.
8. Social Media
A number of photographs from Archive Services collections have recently appeared on the University’s Facebook page as part of its ‘throw back Thursday’. We are delighted to see the very positive response that there has been to these images and the interest they have generated. Our Twitter accounts also continue to attract new followers, with the @CAIS_archives account attracting a lot of attention during and after our recent Conference ‘Democratising or privileging: the future of access to archives’. In a new venture we also used Storify account to chronicle the extensive online coverage of the conference.
9. Records Management Unit Update
In the last E-ARMMS it was mentioned that Mhairi had received a very large request from Research Finance who were being audited by Cancer Research UK. Several more documents and various closed project files were subsequently asked for and the whole job has only just been completed (with all the records safely back in their appropriate boxes in three different locations) at the very end of April. More recently Mhairi had another request which was slightly out of the ordinary. Normally when a department needs to get hold of finance records it is processed through a section of Finance Office and Records Management does not deal directly with the University department. On this occasion, however, Records Management was asked directly by Estates & Buildings for copies of twelve invoices. This was managed speedily and the whole job completed within a day of the original request.
10. New Records Management Consignments
The Records Management Unit has received 27 boxes from a new customer, Population Health Sciences in the MRI. These have still to be fully processed but are accompanied by a full list with retention dates. There are seven boxes of student files from Humanities/Environmental Science and ten boxes from Disability Services. Mhairi is also currently boxing up files from both Accounts Payable and the Cash Office.
11. CAIS News
CAIS staff have been reading and editing a number of new and revised modules in preparation for the start of the May semester. These include Public History, authored and tutored by Caroline Shenton, Business Archives and Cataloguing in the Digital Age. CAIS has enrolled 39 new students for their postgraduate modules and Beyond the Internet short courses beginning on May 13th.
12. 125 years of the Alliance Trust
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the formation of the Alliance Trust, a Dundee based investment and financial services company, whose records are held by Archive Services. We are pleased that several of the key foundation documents have been used in events to mark the anniversary. The Alliance Trust itself was founded in 1888 but can trace its origins to the Oregon and Washington Trust Investment Co Ltd which was set up in Dundee to lend to pioneer farmers in the Pacific North West of the United States. The collection is fascinating as the history of the American West can be traced through the investments and financial deals recorded. In 1895, for example £75,000 was loaned against the 500,000 Acres Goodnight ranch, owned by Charles Goodnight, who is credited as having been the inspiration for the film ‘The Searchers’, starring John Wayne. The Trust’s history is full of pioneers, cowboys, ranches and oil and the Trust continues to hold mineral rights on land in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas & Saskatchewan in Canada. The collection is currently being fully listed but basic lists are available and researchers are welcome to use the records.
13. Great War Anniversary
Matthew and Caroline have been involved with plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and have been working on a collaborative bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to take the project forward. Part of the plans include the publication of a book of poetry by Joseph Lee. Combining the best of Lee’s war poems, the volume will celebrate the life of this remarkable Dundonian. Lee is well known for his journalism, often with a strongly political edge, and at the start of the twentieth century he edited a number of periodicals and newspapers. He enlisted in the Black Watch and his experiences as a soldier in France were depicted in the poems that he wrote from the trenches which were internationally acclaimed. Lee was captured in 1917 and became a prisoner of war and spent much of his time sketching and recording life in the camp. Archive and Museum Services hold his papers and sketches, including original manuscripts of poems, correspondence, and his war diaries.
14. Basic Design Course
Currently showing at Tate Britain is an exhibition about the Basic Design Course which was introduced by Richard Hamilton and Victor Pasmore in Newcastle in the 1950s and was subsequently adopted by numerous art schools around Britain. Many of the exercises on the course were based on D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form, and Matthew recently met with the exhibition curators to discuss the D'Arcy connection and the proposed restaging of Richard Hamilton's Growth and Form exhibition at Tate next year.
15. Fulbright Scotland Summer Institute 2013
Pat has been busy organising the first Fulbright Scotland Summer Institute which the University of Dundee is hosting, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde. A full programme of lectures from a range of disciplines and cultural visits, including Glamis Castle, Culloden and Glencoe will culminate in a reception in Bute House, hosted by the First Minister, Alex Salmond. Nine undergraduates from the US will arrive on July 6 in Dundee for two and a half weeks, followed by the same time in Glasgow. They will act as ambassadors for the universities and for Scotland.
16. Finnish Society-funded project: Archives as Sites of Memory
Pat and Caroline recently attended a seminar in Helsinki where Pat gave a keynote presentation on ‘Community Memory and the Record: Remembering and Forgetting’ at The Society of Swedish Literature, Helsinki.
In this edition:
- Democratising or privileging: the future of access to archives
- Peter Randall-Page sculpture
- Grove Academy Visit
- Dundee Redevelopment Photographs
- New accessions
- Tree of Liberty
- Digital Doctor Day
- Social Media
- Records Management Unit Update
- New Records Management Consignments
- CAIS News
- 125 years of the Alliance Trust
- Great War Anniversary
- Basic Design Course
- Fulbright Scotland Summer Institute 2013
- Finnish Society-funded project: Archives as Sites of Memory
1. Democratising or privileging: the future of access to archives
Our ‘Democratising or privileging: the future of access to archives’ conference was staged in Dundee on 25th and 26th April. The event saw delegates from across the world gather to listen to a range of excellent papers from archivists, historians and archival users, which prompted some fascinating discussions. We were delighted with the positive feedback we received from attendees and are looking forward to our next conference in 2014.
2. Peter Randall-Page sculpture
The university is to have its first major piece of public sculpture as part of the Art Fund RENEW project that curator Matthew Jarron is leading to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson. To supplement the Art Fund grant, Matthew has succeeded in securing £15,000 from the National Fund for Acquisitions to complete the purchase of 'In the Beginning' by internationally renowned sculptor Peter Randall-Page. The piece will be sited in the link entrance between the Carnelley Building and the Old Medical School and should be installed in the near future.
3. Grove Academy Visit
Jennifer and Keren recently went to Grove Academy School to look at their archive material and advise them on how best to store the items. They had several interesting items including daily registers dating back to 1889, photographs and magazines produced by the pupils from the 1970's onwards. They took some conservation items with them including acid free paper and envelopes to give them an idea on how to store the materials. It was a really productive visit and hopefully a good first approach with a view to extending our outreach programme.
4.Dundee Redevelopment Photographs
With the redevelopment of Dundee’s waterfront well under way, Kenneth has continued to take photographs of the various on-going works in the area. This project has been in progress since last January and so far has focused on the work to remove Tayside House. By doing this, we will ensure that we have a photographic collection which documents the major changes to this area of the city. This will complement existing photographic collections which document the massive changes to Dundee in the late nineteenth century and in the 1960s.
5. New accessions
Archive Services continues to receive new material. The last few weeks have seen accessions of material relating to traditional songs, new items for the Michael Bolik Collection and University of Dundee prospectuses and other promotional material for prospective students. We anticipate that all of these items will be of interest to a number of readers.
6. Tree of Liberty
The competition for Interior & Environmental Design students to design a garden area around the new Tree of Liberty outside DJCAD has now finished and the students presented their design proposals to the judging panel. Matthew was one of the judges and was very impressed by the range and quality of the submissions. Four entries have been shortlisted and are now being considered by Estates & Buildings for practicability and affordability before the winning design is chosen and implemented.
7. Digital Doctor Day
On Wednesday 8th May, Jennifer attended a ‘Digital Doctor Day’ held by the Archives and Records Association at the National Records of Scotland. The short seminar looked at archival digitisation projects. Rob Mildren and Robin Urquhart started off by talking about how the NRS started digitisation in 1998-99 with the Scottish Archive Network which was originally more of an online exhibition that soon highlighted the fact that users wanted to see whole volumes scanned and made available online. Ashley Beamer, Web Projects Manager at RCAHMS, then spoke about a couple of digitisation projects she has been involved in; Britain from Above and Scotland’s Places. Next Robin showed us a sample volume and got us to think about the issues around scanning it for publication on a website. Finally we were shown round the Digital Imaging Unit by Paul Riley, the Index and Imaging Team Leader. This busy unit has some pretty high tech equipment which, as their leaflet states, ‘Since obtaining them in October 2009, they have enabled us to triple out output’.
8. Social Media
A number of photographs from Archive Services collections have recently appeared on the University’s Facebook page as part of its ‘throw back Thursday’. We are delighted to see the very positive response that there has been to these images and the interest they have generated. Our Twitter accounts also continue to attract new followers, with the @CAIS_archives account attracting a lot of attention during and after our recent Conference ‘Democratising or privileging: the future of access to archives’. In a new venture we also used Storify account to chronicle the extensive online coverage of the conference.
9. Records Management Unit Update
In the last E-ARMMS it was mentioned that Mhairi had received a very large request from Research Finance who were being audited by Cancer Research UK. Several more documents and various closed project files were subsequently asked for and the whole job has only just been completed (with all the records safely back in their appropriate boxes in three different locations) at the very end of April. More recently Mhairi had another request which was slightly out of the ordinary. Normally when a department needs to get hold of finance records it is processed through a section of Finance Office and Records Management does not deal directly with the University department. On this occasion, however, Records Management was asked directly by Estates & Buildings for copies of twelve invoices. This was managed speedily and the whole job completed within a day of the original request.
10. New Records Management Consignments
The Records Management Unit has received 27 boxes from a new customer, Population Health Sciences in the MRI. These have still to be fully processed but are accompanied by a full list with retention dates. There are seven boxes of student files from Humanities/Environmental Science and ten boxes from Disability Services. Mhairi is also currently boxing up files from both Accounts Payable and the Cash Office.
11. CAIS News
CAIS staff have been reading and editing a number of new and revised modules in preparation for the start of the May semester. These include Public History, authored and tutored by Caroline Shenton, Business Archives and Cataloguing in the Digital Age. CAIS has enrolled 39 new students for their postgraduate modules and Beyond the Internet short courses beginning on May 13th.
12. 125 years of the Alliance Trust
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the formation of the Alliance Trust, a Dundee based investment and financial services company, whose records are held by Archive Services. We are pleased that several of the key foundation documents have been used in events to mark the anniversary. The Alliance Trust itself was founded in 1888 but can trace its origins to the Oregon and Washington Trust Investment Co Ltd which was set up in Dundee to lend to pioneer farmers in the Pacific North West of the United States. The collection is fascinating as the history of the American West can be traced through the investments and financial deals recorded. In 1895, for example £75,000 was loaned against the 500,000 Acres Goodnight ranch, owned by Charles Goodnight, who is credited as having been the inspiration for the film ‘The Searchers’, starring John Wayne. The Trust’s history is full of pioneers, cowboys, ranches and oil and the Trust continues to hold mineral rights on land in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas & Saskatchewan in Canada. The collection is currently being fully listed but basic lists are available and researchers are welcome to use the records.
13. Great War Anniversary
Matthew and Caroline have been involved with plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and have been working on a collaborative bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to take the project forward. Part of the plans include the publication of a book of poetry by Joseph Lee. Combining the best of Lee’s war poems, the volume will celebrate the life of this remarkable Dundonian. Lee is well known for his journalism, often with a strongly political edge, and at the start of the twentieth century he edited a number of periodicals and newspapers. He enlisted in the Black Watch and his experiences as a soldier in France were depicted in the poems that he wrote from the trenches which were internationally acclaimed. Lee was captured in 1917 and became a prisoner of war and spent much of his time sketching and recording life in the camp. Archive and Museum Services hold his papers and sketches, including original manuscripts of poems, correspondence, and his war diaries.
14. Basic Design Course
Currently showing at Tate Britain is an exhibition about the Basic Design Course which was introduced by Richard Hamilton and Victor Pasmore in Newcastle in the 1950s and was subsequently adopted by numerous art schools around Britain. Many of the exercises on the course were based on D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form, and Matthew recently met with the exhibition curators to discuss the D'Arcy connection and the proposed restaging of Richard Hamilton's Growth and Form exhibition at Tate next year.
15. Fulbright Scotland Summer Institute 2013
Pat has been busy organising the first Fulbright Scotland Summer Institute which the University of Dundee is hosting, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde. A full programme of lectures from a range of disciplines and cultural visits, including Glamis Castle, Culloden and Glencoe will culminate in a reception in Bute House, hosted by the First Minister, Alex Salmond. Nine undergraduates from the US will arrive on July 6 in Dundee for two and a half weeks, followed by the same time in Glasgow. They will act as ambassadors for the universities and for Scotland.
16. Finnish Society-funded project: Archives as Sites of Memory
Pat and Caroline recently attended a seminar in Helsinki where Pat gave a keynote presentation on ‘Community Memory and the Record: Remembering and Forgetting’ at The Society of Swedish Literature, Helsinki.
Monday, 20 May 2013
Ninewells Cancer Campaign
Archive Services has recently received the archive of the Ninewells Cancer Campaign, the charity that raises money to support the world-leading research taking place at Ninewells Hospital and the University Medical School. Over the last 20 years more than £17 million has been raised to improve the treatment and care of cancer patients and we are extremely pleased to be given the opportunity, through caring for the archives, to preserve evidence of the work of this important organisation.
Over the last two weeks the collection has been worked on by Nikki, a Skills for the Future Trainee, who has been with us as part of her traineeship. Under the guidance of the archivists she has been cataloguing and rehousing the material and has the following to say about her experiences.
'I'm Nikki
and I am one of ten people taking part in a one year traineeship at the Royal
Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland in Edinburgh (RCAHMS). Our traineeship focuses primarily on
cataloguing and re-housing the different collections at RCAHMS. This
entails working with RCAHMS’ fascinating
collections in the main store but does mean we don’t get out much! As a result, the traineeship incorporates
placements into the programme and I have just come to the end of my two week
placement within the University of Dundee archives.
I have been
cataloguing an accession from the Ninewells Cancer Campaign. I have worked my way through 10 boxes of
files to make detailed lists and uploaded the information onto the cataloguing software CALM. The collection includes letters of
correspondence, brochures, reports, badges and newspaper articles relating to
the many fundraising events hosted by the NCC for cancer research projects. I have also helped with a public enquiry and
had a behind-the-scenes insight into the work of the archivists.
At the end
of our placement we will share our experiences by producing a report and
presentation on the skills we gained. I
have really enjoyed my time here. I have
met some fantastic and inspirational people and this experience has been great
for developing my skills for further use in the heritage sector.'
We've very much enjoyed having Nikki with us and wish her well during the rest of her traineeship. We look forward to Nikki and the other trainees taking some of our modules on archive management and outreach and education in September.
For more information about the Ninewells Cancer Campaign collection contact archives@dundee.ac.uk.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Was 57% of Dundee's population in 1847 Irish?
Volunteers at Archive Services are working on a project to
index the admission registers of Dundee Royal Infirmary. Andrew Mackenzie, one of our volunteers, has
been working on the register for 1847 and says:
‘The admissions register of Dundee Royal Infirmary from 1847
for the month of February reveals some valuable information about Dundee in
this period. The most common illness was fever; out of 166 patients admitted
between 1st February 1847 and 28th February 1847 there
were 117 cases and of theses 15 patients died.
However, the register tells us more than just the illness of
the patient, other information includes address, occupation, sex, age,
nationality and county where born. The records therefore shed light on the
demographic composition of Dundee in 1847. Out of the 166 patients admitted in
February 68 were Scottish, 4 were English and 94 were Irish (57% Irish, 41%
Scottish, 2% English). As might be expected
of Dundee in this period 53 patients were weavers and 38 were millworkers.
Other common occupations included 17 housewives and 16 labourers.’
By creating indexes for the registers the information will
become more accessibly, particularly to family historians. Clearly assumptions cannot be made about Dundee's population as a whole from these figures but the range of
information included in the registers, stretching over many years, warrants more sustained
academic analysis and we would welcome further research on these archives. Friday, 15 March 2013
Was Disaster Built into the First Tay Bridge?
We were delighted to receive a donation from William (Bill) Dow recently. The gift was a volume of Bill's research into the collapse of the Tay Rail Bridge which happened in December 1879 with the loss of over seventy lives. Bill Dow believes that vital information in the form of correspondence was not revealed to the original enquiry and his volume details this.
This is one of several gifts to the archives by Bill Dow who was principle lecturer in physics and head of science at Dundee College of Education, now part of the University. Bill is well known in Dundee for his extensive knowledge of local history as well as his enthusiasm for physics, stemming from his work on radar in the Second World War.
The University Archives have a number of items relating to the Tay Bridge disaster which can be consulted. For more information contact archives@dundee.ac.uk or visit our website and type Tay Bridge into our online catalogue.
The University Archives have a number of items relating to the Tay Bridge disaster which can be consulted. For more information contact archives@dundee.ac.uk or visit our website and type Tay Bridge into our online catalogue.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Dewar 2013 Conference
Friday, 8 March 2013
International Women's Day
As it is International Women's Day we thought this would be a good opportunity to think about some of our records relating to women. Dundee has long had a reputation as 'a women's toun' and, although the extent of women's influence on the city's history is debated among historians, our collections demonstrate that women have played an important part, not least because of their leading role in the jute and flax industry. Our extensive jute collections include a number of excellent images of female workers from Dundee's mills in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
 |
| Dundee jute factory |
Another area where women
have made a huge impact on the life of Dundee is at our own University.
University College, Dundee was founded in 1881 with the
financial backing of Mary Ann Baxter and her input was far more than purely financial. It
was thanks to Miss Baxter that the College adopted a policy of no discrimination
between the sexes, allowing female students access to all its courses. This meant the College attracted many bright female
students who would go on to make a big impact on the world including the Dundee
social reformer Mary Lily Walker and Ruth Wilson (later Young), who would have
a successful career in medicine as well as carrying out notable welfare
work in India and Ethiopia. Ruth Young's papers are now held by Archive
Services.
 |
| Mary Lily Walker |
Later the medical school at Dundee would produce Margaret Fairlie, an
outstanding doctor and pioneer of the use of radium who also taught at the
medical school. In 1940 she became Scotland's first female Professor and
remains one of the outstanding figures in the University's history.
When the University became independent in 1967 it broke further new ground as Scotland's first University to have a female Chancellor, Queen
Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who did much to promote the institution.
Other notable women to have played a part in shaping the University range from
Joan Auld, the first University Archivist, to Elizabeth Macdonald
(later Bryson), the first woman to graduate in medicine who wrote a memorable
account of life at the medical school around 1900. The University records are
full of details of these remarkable women and many others who have played a key
part in the University's success.
Several of our other
collections contain records of notable women including:
MS 25 Thomas Campbell - Includes copies of the correspondence of
the actress Sarah Siddons
MS 103 Kinnear
Collection - Includes material
relating to the Dundee poet, writer and communist activist Mary Brooksbank
MS 100 Don and Low
Collection - Includes items
relating to Margaret Thatcher and Jennie Lee
MS 113 Papers regarding
Clementina Stirling Graham - Correspondence of the
author and friend of Lady Airlie
 |
| Margaret Fairlie |
MS 220 Records
concerning the life and adventures of Mary Eleanor Bowes - The Countess of Strathmore who's scandalous life
partly inspired the novel Barry Lyndon by Thackeray
MS 270 Dundee
Conservative and Unionist Association Collection - includes material relating to Florence Horsbrugh, a
pioneering female MP (and the only woman to have represented Dundee at
Westminster)
The Peto Collection - Includes photographs of many famous female
figures including authors, politicians, actresses, musicians, sportswomen and
ballerinas.
However, these are just the tip of a large iceberg. Throughout our collections can be found
the stories of many women whose names are not particularly well known, but who
led lives which were still important, including doctors, nurses, political
activists, hospital patients, housewives, teachers and servants. Source
lists, covering some of the material we hold relating to women can be found
here: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/archives/slwomentop.htm
Dr Kenneth Baxter
Friday, 1 March 2013
Archive of the Year award
Congratulations to our oral history tutor Craig Fees and his team at the Planned Environment Therapy Trust Archive and Study Centre on winning the Your Family History's Archive of the Year Award. The Trust supports therapeutic approaches to the treatment of children and adults who have suffered emotionally and psychologically. We're very pleased that its work and the central role of PETT's archives and oral history projects have been recognised in this way. More information is on the PETT website.
Craig Fees is a tutor on our distance learning module Sound and Vision: Collecting, Preserving and Managing Film, Sound and Oral History and is the archivist and oral history expert at the Trust. The prize was presented to him at Who Do You Think You Are Live by another of our tutors, Dr Nick Barratt, who is the author and tutor of CAIS's House History module. The Centre for Archive and Information Studies (CAIS) had a stall at the WDYTYA Live show; it was lovely to meet up with former and current students and there was a lot of interest in our Family and Local History courses. Pat Whatley spoke at the show on the Scottish Poor Law and Caroline Brown on Scottish asylum records and we are planning a new module on welfare and health to be offered as a single module or part of our Certificate and Masters programme.
For more information on our courses see www.dundee.ac.uk/cais or contact armtraining@dundee.ac.uk
Craig Fees is a tutor on our distance learning module Sound and Vision: Collecting, Preserving and Managing Film, Sound and Oral History and is the archivist and oral history expert at the Trust. The prize was presented to him at Who Do You Think You Are Live by another of our tutors, Dr Nick Barratt, who is the author and tutor of CAIS's House History module. The Centre for Archive and Information Studies (CAIS) had a stall at the WDYTYA Live show; it was lovely to meet up with former and current students and there was a lot of interest in our Family and Local History courses. Pat Whatley spoke at the show on the Scottish Poor Law and Caroline Brown on Scottish asylum records and we are planning a new module on welfare and health to be offered as a single module or part of our Certificate and Masters programme.
 |
| The CAIS stall at Who Do You Think You Are Live |
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
E-ARMMS Newsletter 20
A monthly newsletter from Archive, Records Management and Museum Services (ARMMS) and the Centre for Archive and Information Studies (CAIS) at the University of Dundee.
In this edition:
1. NHS Tayside Records
The NHS Tayside Records (THB) have had to be temporarily relocated to allow maintenance work to be carried out in the archive repository. The move was coordinated by Jennifer, who has, with great efficiency, organised the packing, moving and reshelving of thousands of records in this collection, with assistance from other staff members and several of our volunteers. The records are still accessible to researchers, but until the work is completed advance notice is required, by email archives@dundee.ac.uk or telephone (01382 384095) before visiting the archives.
2. D'Arcy Thompson Art Exhibitions
Museum Services is currently showing the latest exhibitions tying into our Art Fund project to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson. Two shows in the Tower Building feature the work of four contemporary artists from London, Falmouth and Dundee. At the same time we have an exhibition in St Andrews of work acquired with the Art Fund grant so far, and as this has created some empty space in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, we have invited the Master of Fine Art students from DJCAD to create a site-specific installation show in the museum. Details of all these exhibitions can be found at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/exhibitions/zoology/ Meanwhile we are also assisting with plans to turn the former Mickey Coyle's into a new themed bar called the D'Arcy Thompson - conveniently this will be the closest bar to the museum!
3. Great War Dundee
Matthew and Caroline are playing an active role in the city-wide Great War Dundee initiative, which aims to bring together all of Dundee's cultural organisations to commemorate the centenary of the First World War through a wide range of public activities. An HLF application is being prepared and our joint collaborative approach has been commended by the Imperial War Museum, who are using Dundee as a model of what can be achieved by a single city.
4. RCAHMS Skills for the Future Trainees
Caroline attended a presentation at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) by HLF funded Skills for the Future Trainees. Archive Services and CAIS have been involved in the year-long training programme: the archives hosted a two week placement for one of the trainees and all trainees completed modules with CAIS on Archive Management and Education and Outreach. We wish them all luck in their future careers.
5. History of the Book Class
Archive Services was visited by the level 4 History of the Book class run jointly by English and History. The class gives students a chance to see our famed Fifteenth Century illuminated 'Book of Hours'. The 'Book of Hours', also called a 'Missal', was written for use in the Diocese of Tournai in about 1450 and is part of the Brechin Diocesan Collection. The students have also taken the oppertunity to research the history of the Brechin Episcopal Church library for information about the provenance of the books that they are studying. It is an excellent example of the relationship between the University special collections and the manuscript collections held by Archive Services.
6. Oil Painting Catalogue
A significant achievement for Museum Services and the city as a whole was the publication in December of the Public Catalogue Foundation's fully illustrated catalogue of all oil paintings in public ownership in Dundee. The collections of Dundee City Council and the University of Dundee form the largest part of the catalogue but it also includes Dundee Heritage Trust, NHS Tayside, the University of Abertay and other smaller collections. The catalogue, which should greatly increase access to the city's art collections, is now on sale via the University's online shop, and all profits go directly towards conservation and development of our art collections.
7. The Tree of Liberty
Matthew is helping Interior & Environmental Design students with a project to plant a new Tree of Liberty. The original tree was planted in 1793 and eventually cut down in 1930 due to road widening. A new version was planted in 1986 near the original site (which by then had an art college next to it) but it failed to thrive and was removed last year when the new entrance for the Matthew Building was created. The students have been researching the history of the tree and will design a garden area outside DJCAD in which the new tree will be planted.
8. Archives in the News
On 16th January The Evening Telegraph and Post carried an feature, written by Kenneth, on the Dundee Textile Barons Sir William Ogilvy Dalgleish and Edward Cox who died in 1913. Archive Services hold a wide range of records relating to both and the article was primarily based on material we hold. Kenneth was interviewed for the feature and provided more detail on the lives of these two important figures from Dundee's past. Later that week the Archives had a visit from Scotland on Sunday reporters who were researching the Timex strike in Dundee which took place in 1993. We have a collection of material put together by George Mason who was involved in the strike and who now works at the University. The journalists spent some time talking to George and looking at the archives in preparation for the piece which appeared in the paper on 20th January.
9. Readers and Enquiries
January proved to be a busy start to the year with a total of 43 reader visits and a high number of enquiries from members of the public . Readers and enquiries were interested in a diverse range of topics including house history, genealogy, the textile industry (in both Dundee and India), medical records and the history of the University. The early signs are that February will be an even busier month, with the first few days of the month experiencing a packed Searchroom.
10. CAIS News
CAIS has been very busy in January with preparations for the new semester. CAIS has a new tutor, who wrote and will teach Military Archives. Several modules have also been revised and updated. CAIS staff also attended Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2013 in Olympia, London, from 22 to 24 February. CAIS were delighted to meet a wide range of people interested in their courses, including CAIS students who attended the event.
11. The Scottish Higher Education Information Practitioners Group (SHEIP)
The Scottish Higher Education Information Practitioners Group (SHEIP) is a group that meets regularly to discuss information compliance issues facing the HE sector in Scotland. Recent work has included updating sectoral guidance on the implementation of publication schemes under the FoI (Scotland) Act. We're pleased to note that Alan was elected recently as the new Chair of SHEIP.
12. Death of Professor Caird
We were saddened to learn of the recent death of Professor James B. Caird, whose papers are held by Archive Services (UR-SF 40). Professor Caird was born in Perth and in 1975 was appointed to the Chair of Geography at the University of Dundee, a post he held until his retirement in 1993. He is perhaps best known for his major survey into crofting on the Western Isles, carried out in the 1950s and 1960s. The extensive research notes he made when working on this landmark project are now held by Archive Services and are open for readers to consult.
13. Records Management Unit Update
Things are as busy as ever in the University Records Management Unit (RMU). A shred at the RM outstore at Claverhouse Industrial Estate, dispatched 120 boxes of Finance files. Since the start of the year RMU has already received 128 boxes of records. These include more than 80 boxes from the Procurement Office following there move from Caird House into a room on the third floor of the Tower Building. There are also more student files from Duncan of Jordanstone and Life Sciences, as well as a consignment from Accounts Payable.
14. Records Management Requests
As well as the new consignments received by RMU the level of requested documents by a range of departments remains high. A higher than usual numbers of student files and HR files have being requested, together with two very large audits for Research Finance. One of these, for Cancer Research UK was for nearly 150 documents, required documents from six years to be identified by Mhairi.
15. Retiral of Archive Services member of staff: Michael Bolik
Michael Bolik retired recently from the University after over 25 years' service in the University Archives. Michael s contribution to the development of the department was great; he was involved in the early accessions and cataloguing of the main jute collections, with former University Archivist, Joan Auld, and had developed a comprehensive knowledge of the archival collections. He was one of the first CAIS MLitt graduates and was responsible for the department's electronic and digital management systems. Michael is greatly missed by all his former colleagues and we wish him the very best in the future.
In this edition:
- NHS Tayside Records
- D'Arcy Thompson Art Exhibitions
- Great War Dundee
- RCAHMS Skills for the Future Trainees
- History of the Book Class
- Oil Painting Catalogue
- The Tree of Liberty
- Archives in the News
- Readers and Enquiries
- CAIS news
- The Scottish Higher Education Information Practitioners Group (SHEIP)
- Death of Professor Caird
- Records Management Unit Update
- Records Management Requests
- Retiral of Archive Services member of staff: Michael Bolik
1. NHS Tayside Records
The NHS Tayside Records (THB) have had to be temporarily relocated to allow maintenance work to be carried out in the archive repository. The move was coordinated by Jennifer, who has, with great efficiency, organised the packing, moving and reshelving of thousands of records in this collection, with assistance from other staff members and several of our volunteers. The records are still accessible to researchers, but until the work is completed advance notice is required, by email archives@dundee.ac.uk or telephone (01382 384095) before visiting the archives.
2. D'Arcy Thompson Art Exhibitions
Museum Services is currently showing the latest exhibitions tying into our Art Fund project to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson. Two shows in the Tower Building feature the work of four contemporary artists from London, Falmouth and Dundee. At the same time we have an exhibition in St Andrews of work acquired with the Art Fund grant so far, and as this has created some empty space in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum, we have invited the Master of Fine Art students from DJCAD to create a site-specific installation show in the museum. Details of all these exhibitions can be found at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/exhibitions/zoology/ Meanwhile we are also assisting with plans to turn the former Mickey Coyle's into a new themed bar called the D'Arcy Thompson - conveniently this will be the closest bar to the museum!
3. Great War Dundee
Matthew and Caroline are playing an active role in the city-wide Great War Dundee initiative, which aims to bring together all of Dundee's cultural organisations to commemorate the centenary of the First World War through a wide range of public activities. An HLF application is being prepared and our joint collaborative approach has been commended by the Imperial War Museum, who are using Dundee as a model of what can be achieved by a single city.
4. RCAHMS Skills for the Future Trainees
Caroline attended a presentation at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) by HLF funded Skills for the Future Trainees. Archive Services and CAIS have been involved in the year-long training programme: the archives hosted a two week placement for one of the trainees and all trainees completed modules with CAIS on Archive Management and Education and Outreach. We wish them all luck in their future careers.
5. History of the Book Class
Archive Services was visited by the level 4 History of the Book class run jointly by English and History. The class gives students a chance to see our famed Fifteenth Century illuminated 'Book of Hours'. The 'Book of Hours', also called a 'Missal', was written for use in the Diocese of Tournai in about 1450 and is part of the Brechin Diocesan Collection. The students have also taken the oppertunity to research the history of the Brechin Episcopal Church library for information about the provenance of the books that they are studying. It is an excellent example of the relationship between the University special collections and the manuscript collections held by Archive Services.
6. Oil Painting Catalogue
A significant achievement for Museum Services and the city as a whole was the publication in December of the Public Catalogue Foundation's fully illustrated catalogue of all oil paintings in public ownership in Dundee. The collections of Dundee City Council and the University of Dundee form the largest part of the catalogue but it also includes Dundee Heritage Trust, NHS Tayside, the University of Abertay and other smaller collections. The catalogue, which should greatly increase access to the city's art collections, is now on sale via the University's online shop, and all profits go directly towards conservation and development of our art collections.
7. The Tree of Liberty
Matthew is helping Interior & Environmental Design students with a project to plant a new Tree of Liberty. The original tree was planted in 1793 and eventually cut down in 1930 due to road widening. A new version was planted in 1986 near the original site (which by then had an art college next to it) but it failed to thrive and was removed last year when the new entrance for the Matthew Building was created. The students have been researching the history of the tree and will design a garden area outside DJCAD in which the new tree will be planted.
8. Archives in the News
On 16th January The Evening Telegraph and Post carried an feature, written by Kenneth, on the Dundee Textile Barons Sir William Ogilvy Dalgleish and Edward Cox who died in 1913. Archive Services hold a wide range of records relating to both and the article was primarily based on material we hold. Kenneth was interviewed for the feature and provided more detail on the lives of these two important figures from Dundee's past. Later that week the Archives had a visit from Scotland on Sunday reporters who were researching the Timex strike in Dundee which took place in 1993. We have a collection of material put together by George Mason who was involved in the strike and who now works at the University. The journalists spent some time talking to George and looking at the archives in preparation for the piece which appeared in the paper on 20th January.
9. Readers and Enquiries
January proved to be a busy start to the year with a total of 43 reader visits and a high number of enquiries from members of the public . Readers and enquiries were interested in a diverse range of topics including house history, genealogy, the textile industry (in both Dundee and India), medical records and the history of the University. The early signs are that February will be an even busier month, with the first few days of the month experiencing a packed Searchroom.
10. CAIS News
CAIS has been very busy in January with preparations for the new semester. CAIS has a new tutor, who wrote and will teach Military Archives. Several modules have also been revised and updated. CAIS staff also attended Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2013 in Olympia, London, from 22 to 24 February. CAIS were delighted to meet a wide range of people interested in their courses, including CAIS students who attended the event.
11. The Scottish Higher Education Information Practitioners Group (SHEIP)
The Scottish Higher Education Information Practitioners Group (SHEIP) is a group that meets regularly to discuss information compliance issues facing the HE sector in Scotland. Recent work has included updating sectoral guidance on the implementation of publication schemes under the FoI (Scotland) Act. We're pleased to note that Alan was elected recently as the new Chair of SHEIP.
12. Death of Professor Caird
We were saddened to learn of the recent death of Professor James B. Caird, whose papers are held by Archive Services (UR-SF 40). Professor Caird was born in Perth and in 1975 was appointed to the Chair of Geography at the University of Dundee, a post he held until his retirement in 1993. He is perhaps best known for his major survey into crofting on the Western Isles, carried out in the 1950s and 1960s. The extensive research notes he made when working on this landmark project are now held by Archive Services and are open for readers to consult.
13. Records Management Unit Update
Things are as busy as ever in the University Records Management Unit (RMU). A shred at the RM outstore at Claverhouse Industrial Estate, dispatched 120 boxes of Finance files. Since the start of the year RMU has already received 128 boxes of records. These include more than 80 boxes from the Procurement Office following there move from Caird House into a room on the third floor of the Tower Building. There are also more student files from Duncan of Jordanstone and Life Sciences, as well as a consignment from Accounts Payable.
14. Records Management Requests
As well as the new consignments received by RMU the level of requested documents by a range of departments remains high. A higher than usual numbers of student files and HR files have being requested, together with two very large audits for Research Finance. One of these, for Cancer Research UK was for nearly 150 documents, required documents from six years to be identified by Mhairi.
15. Retiral of Archive Services member of staff: Michael Bolik
Michael Bolik retired recently from the University after over 25 years' service in the University Archives. Michael s contribution to the development of the department was great; he was involved in the early accessions and cataloguing of the main jute collections, with former University Archivist, Joan Auld, and had developed a comprehensive knowledge of the archival collections. He was one of the first CAIS MLitt graduates and was responsible for the department's electronic and digital management systems. Michael is greatly missed by all his former colleagues and we wish him the very best in the future.
Friday, 22 February 2013
Standing on the brink...
Who Do You Think You Are? Live, Britain's largest family history event, opens its doors today at 10am. Our stand is up and we're ready to answer your questions. You can find us at stand 411.
Monday, 18 February 2013
WDYTYA 2013 - all packed and raring to go!
Our stand, banners and leaflets for Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2013 are packed and on their way to London as we type. If you're visiting Olympia for the show, which runs Friday-Sunday, come and see us at stand 411.
Friday, 15 February 2013
What do you think we do?
We've finalised another bit of artwork for our WDYTYA? Live 2013 leaflets today:
Our course on Military Records is just one of the online courses we offer through the Centre for Archive and Information Studies. For more information on all our online courses and Masters degree programmes see www.dundee.ac.uk/cais/. If you're heading to Olympia next week be sure to come and see us at stand 411. You can also contact us on +44 (0)1382 385543 or by emailing armtraining@dundee.ac.uk.
Our course on Military Records is just one of the online courses we offer through the Centre for Archive and Information Studies. For more information on all our online courses and Masters degree programmes see www.dundee.ac.uk/cais/. If you're heading to Olympia next week be sure to come and see us at stand 411. You can also contact us on +44 (0)1382 385543 or by emailing armtraining@dundee.ac.uk.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Where do you think we are?
We're off to Who Do You Think You Are? Live again later this month and we've just finished the artwork for some new leaflets. This one is for our short online course in house history.
If you're heading to Olympia between 22-24 February please stop by and say hello. We'll be at stand 411. If you can't make it to the show and would like information on any of our courses or programmes please give us a call on +44 (0)1382 385543 or email armtraining@dundee.ac.uk.
If you're heading to Olympia between 22-24 February please stop by and say hello. We'll be at stand 411. If you can't make it to the show and would like information on any of our courses or programmes please give us a call on +44 (0)1382 385543 or email armtraining@dundee.ac.uk.
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Goodbye Michael
Today we say farewell to our longest serving and one of our best
known members of staff, Michael Bolik. Michael is a familiar face to all of our
users having been with the Archives since 1987 but his association with the
University of Dundee goes back further as Michael studied here in the
1970s. He has the rare distinction of having studied or worked under all six
Principals of the University of Dundee.
The importance of Michael’s contribution to Archive Services
cannot be overstated. Significant among
his many contributions in the past 25 years is the key role he has played in
organising the records of the University of Dundee and its predecessors. He has also worked
on many other important collections including the records of the Glasite and
Sandemanian Churches. His knowledge of the University archive collections is extensive and his expertise will be missed by us all. Michael has also provided invaluable advice and support to a large number of our users and it is no surprise that several major publications have cited him in their acknowledgements.
Michael quickly grasped the importance of new technology in promoting our collections and created our first webpages in the early 1990s; his role in managing our
IT needs has been crucial in allowing ARMMS to flourish. We have over 30,000 digital images of our collections which have been managed by Michael, and he has been responsible for overseeing the use of some of these in publications around the world. His often behind the scenes assistance, for example with A Dundee Celebration and Lost Dundee, did not go unnoticed by his colleagues.
We will miss Michael not just for this work, but for
his personality. His sense of humour and
genuine interest in the lives of those who work with him have meant that
everyone in ARMMS has found him a pleasure to work beside. Michael has made many
friends across the University who will be saddened by his departure.
However, our sadness is tempered by our happiness that he is starting a new life and we wish him the very best for the future.
Good luck from everyone at ARMMS and CAIS.
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Tortured English
A common criticism of FoI is the tone of the responses sent to applicants. The legislation requires answers to contain precise and specific words and phrases which, at best, can sound rather dry. At worst, they give correspondence an unintended air of officiousness which can create or increase perceived barriers between an applicant and the public body from whom they are requesting information. This is counterintuitive when we remember that FoI is supposed to be one of the channels that improves the relationship between the public and public authorities by making access to information not only more straightforward, but a right protected by statute.
For instance, if someone in Scotland requests information about another person which can't be provided because its release would contravene the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) (ie the release of one person's personal information to another would not be appropriate), the response is likely to mention the following sections of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FoI(S)A):
• S.16 - so that the applicant knows that their request for information is being refused (even though the public body does have the information that has been requested).
• S.38(1)(b) - the specific exemption from disclosure being claimed by the public authority.
• S.38(2)(a)(i) - the justification for claiming the exemption in S.38(1)(b), which informs the applicant that, in the view of the public authority, the release of the information requested would breach the principles of the DPA.
The public authority also has to provide an argument supporting their position. In this example, that argument doesn't include a consideration of 'substantial prejudice' (also known as the application of a 'harm test'), but that is something that is required by some other exemptions. The argument in this example revolves around a potential breach of the principles of the DPA, and thus might include reference to parts of that Act (over and above the references already made to sections of FoI(S)A) such as:
• The definitions of data, personal data and sensitive personal data (if appropriate) in S.1 and S.2.
• One or more of the 8 data protection principles listed in Schedule 1, Part 1.
If the argument being made concerns a breach of the first data protection principle, then Schedule 1, Part 2 (S.1-S.5), Schedule 2 and (potentially) Schedule 3 of the DPA may all be relevant.
And so on (and the above is by no means comprehensive). The more complex the request, the more difficult the language becomes and the alphabet soup gets thicker and thicker.
Tellingly, even at this point, we still haven't finished. In this example, the organisation does not have to undertake a public interest test by virtue of S.2(2)(e)(ii) of FoI(S)A, but that is something that is necessary when claiming many other exemptions. The response also has to include instructions on the process by which the person making the request can compel the public body to review their decision to withhold information.
It isn't hard to see, then, how a formal response to a FoI request can seem stand-offish. Euan Semple in his book Organisations Don't Tweet, People Do rails against the use of cold and dispassionate language in organisations, suggesting that all it does is create distance and frustration, both on the part of people trying to communicate with organisations and for people in an organisation trying to communicate with those outside. It's a fair point and many FoI officers try to make their correspondence sound human whilst meeting all the requirements placed upon them by the law. But, and it's a big but, as soon as a correspondence has to be 'defensible' in some way, it is inevitable that it becomes impersonal to a degree because defensibility implies an over-arching regulatory framework with specific requirements for compliance. The result can be a stilted tone (pp http://euansemple.com/theobvious/2012/8/11/meaning-matters.html).
Is that a bad thing? On one level, no. As long as the applicant's request for information is properly considered and they either receive the information they have requested or a proper explanation of why it can't be disclosed (which they can choose to either accept or challenge), the system is working and people can exercise a right which didn't exist before 2005. We shouldn't forget that FoI is less than 10 years old (in terms of the date that the legislation came into force) and cultural change is an incremental process. Moreover, the provision of detail to applicants means that they can make an independent assessment of the response they receive and decide whether they wish to request that a decision be reviewed. The detail is important as it underpins any necessary defence of the right to access information.
Although it is important, the detail doesn't make responses easy to read. That's why I was intrigued and heartened by a petition response published by the White House recently. It uses well-judged humour to respond to a petition suggesting that the United States should build a Death-Star, but manages to make some interesting points about the current priorities of the US space programme (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking). The tone of the response makes it sound like it was written by a human and the fact that the author was prepared to engage with the petitioner in the right spirit resulted in the response (and therefore the substantive points about the space programme as well as the humorous sections) receiving far more coverage than a simple rebuttal could ever have achieved. It's a great example of a human touch going a long way and something from which anyone working in information compliance can learn.
For instance, if someone in Scotland requests information about another person which can't be provided because its release would contravene the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) (ie the release of one person's personal information to another would not be appropriate), the response is likely to mention the following sections of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FoI(S)A):
• S.16 - so that the applicant knows that their request for information is being refused (even though the public body does have the information that has been requested).
• S.38(1)(b) - the specific exemption from disclosure being claimed by the public authority.
• S.38(2)(a)(i) - the justification for claiming the exemption in S.38(1)(b), which informs the applicant that, in the view of the public authority, the release of the information requested would breach the principles of the DPA.
The public authority also has to provide an argument supporting their position. In this example, that argument doesn't include a consideration of 'substantial prejudice' (also known as the application of a 'harm test'), but that is something that is required by some other exemptions. The argument in this example revolves around a potential breach of the principles of the DPA, and thus might include reference to parts of that Act (over and above the references already made to sections of FoI(S)A) such as:
• The definitions of data, personal data and sensitive personal data (if appropriate) in S.1 and S.2.
• One or more of the 8 data protection principles listed in Schedule 1, Part 1.
If the argument being made concerns a breach of the first data protection principle, then Schedule 1, Part 2 (S.1-S.5), Schedule 2 and (potentially) Schedule 3 of the DPA may all be relevant.
And so on (and the above is by no means comprehensive). The more complex the request, the more difficult the language becomes and the alphabet soup gets thicker and thicker.
Tellingly, even at this point, we still haven't finished. In this example, the organisation does not have to undertake a public interest test by virtue of S.2(2)(e)(ii) of FoI(S)A, but that is something that is necessary when claiming many other exemptions. The response also has to include instructions on the process by which the person making the request can compel the public body to review their decision to withhold information.
It isn't hard to see, then, how a formal response to a FoI request can seem stand-offish. Euan Semple in his book Organisations Don't Tweet, People Do rails against the use of cold and dispassionate language in organisations, suggesting that all it does is create distance and frustration, both on the part of people trying to communicate with organisations and for people in an organisation trying to communicate with those outside. It's a fair point and many FoI officers try to make their correspondence sound human whilst meeting all the requirements placed upon them by the law. But, and it's a big but, as soon as a correspondence has to be 'defensible' in some way, it is inevitable that it becomes impersonal to a degree because defensibility implies an over-arching regulatory framework with specific requirements for compliance. The result can be a stilted tone (pp http://euansemple.com/theobvious/2012/8/11/meaning-matters.html).
Is that a bad thing? On one level, no. As long as the applicant's request for information is properly considered and they either receive the information they have requested or a proper explanation of why it can't be disclosed (which they can choose to either accept or challenge), the system is working and people can exercise a right which didn't exist before 2005. We shouldn't forget that FoI is less than 10 years old (in terms of the date that the legislation came into force) and cultural change is an incremental process. Moreover, the provision of detail to applicants means that they can make an independent assessment of the response they receive and decide whether they wish to request that a decision be reviewed. The detail is important as it underpins any necessary defence of the right to access information.
Although it is important, the detail doesn't make responses easy to read. That's why I was intrigued and heartened by a petition response published by the White House recently. It uses well-judged humour to respond to a petition suggesting that the United States should build a Death-Star, but manages to make some interesting points about the current priorities of the US space programme (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking). The tone of the response makes it sound like it was written by a human and the fact that the author was prepared to engage with the petitioner in the right spirit resulted in the response (and therefore the substantive points about the space programme as well as the humorous sections) receiving far more coverage than a simple rebuttal could ever have achieved. It's a great example of a human touch going a long way and something from which anyone working in information compliance can learn.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
On this day in Dundee
This is the first of two posts in which we look back to the
year just gone and forward to the coming year. In this post we remember some
significant anniversaries for the University and for Dundee which occurred in
2012.
 |
| Doris Mackinnon |
September saw the 100th anniversary of the
1912 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in
Dundee. This event involved several members of staff of University College,
Dundee including Patrick Geddes, Angus Fulton and Doris Mackinnon.
1912 was also
notable for one of the largest industrial disputes in Dundee’s history with
around 30,000 millworkers going on strike in the city, bringing production to a
virtual standstill. Matters were eventually settled on 15th April
and the strike was soon eclipsed by the news of the sinking of RMS Titanic. It
would later emerge that the Dundee built vessel SS Californian had been close
to Titanic (the question of how close remains doubtful) but had not responded
to her distress signals. Archive Services holds records relating to both the
1912 meeting and to the strike.
 |
| Dundee Asylum |
This year also marked the 200th anniversary
of the birth of Harry Walker, the founder of an important local jute firm, the
papers of which we hold (MS 66/VI). 1812
was also the year when the foundation stone of the original Dundee Asylum was
laid. Its records (THB 7) are held has part of the NHS Tayside Archive.
Other significant anniversaries in 2012 included:
- · 125th anniversary of the opening of the second Tay Rail Bridge
- · 115th anniversary of the founding of The Dundee Women's Hospital and Nursing Home
- · 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Abertay Historical Society
- · 40th anniversary of the 1972 University of Dundee North East Greenland Expedition
- · 25th anniversary of the arrival of Michael Hamlin as Principal
- · 20th anniversary of the appointment of Sir James Whyte Black as Chancellor and of Stephen Fry as Rector.
We hold material on all of these events and institutions in the Archives. If you are interested in finding out more contact archives@dundee.ac.uk or visit www.dundee.ac.uk/archives.
Monday, 14 January 2013
E-ARMMS Newsletter 19
A monthly newsletter from Archive, Records Management and Museum Services (ARMMS) and the Centre for Archive and Information Studies (CAIS) at the University of Dundee.
This is the latest edition of the ARMMS and CAIS newsletter, eARMMS, that we also post here. Let us know if you would like an email copy each month.
In this edition:
1. Dr John Carvell
Archive Services has again been visited by John Carvell, who regular readers will recall had previously come to the Archives in August, when he was the subject of an oral history interview. He graduated from the School of Medicine in 1970 and during his time as a student he was the first president of the University of Dundee Sports Union. In 1968 he was part of the University's expedition to Scoresby Land in East Greenland, serving as the medical officer and sending back a number of reports that were published by the Courier and Advertiser. These offer fascinating accounts of the expedition, ranging from the dangers of crumbling snow bridges and charging musk oxen to the beauty and solitude of the land. Dr Carvell has generously deposited copies of the reports and a map of Scoresby Land with us. Before Dr Carvell’s recent visit we had made printouts of various images taken during the expedition that showed the various team members. Dr Carvell kindly took time to identify these individuals thus enabling us to update our records.
2. Benefiting from the Facts
The latest exhibition in the Tower Foyer Gallery has been curated by Claire Wallace, a part-time student on the Museum and Gallery Studies postgraduate course at the University of St Andrews, who is doing her work placement with Museum Services. Claire's exhibition looks at some of the most notable benefactors to the university and its various affiliated institutions, and features paintings, sculpture, photographs and artefacts. Among the benefactors whose generosity is highlighted are Mary Ann Baxter, founder of the university; William Ogilvy Dalgleish, one of the principal funders of the medical school; Margaret Harris, whose bequest endowed the chair of physics; and James Duncan of Jordanstone, after whom the Art College is named. Two of the portraits shown in the exhibition are being displayed for the first time since having conservation treatment funded by a grant from Museums Galleries Scotland. Material from Archive Services is also included in the exhibition.-->
3. Digital Art for Light Night
The D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum was open as part of Dundee's Christmas Light Night celebrations, and as part of the event a specially commissioned digital artwork was premiered. Daniel Brown is one of the UK's leading digital artists, and was commissioned by Museum Services as part of the Art Funded RENEW project to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson. Daniel has created a computer program which grows random flower forms whose textures and patterns are drawn from specimens in the Zoology Museum. The work will next be shown in an exhibition in the Gateway Galleries in St Andrews along with other works acquired for the project so far.
4. Scottish Art Evening Class
Curator Matthew Jarron recently organised a successful evening class for Continuing Education on Scottish Art of the 20th Century, arranged in collaboration with the Scottish Society for Art History and co-tutored by Lesley Lindsay. The six-week course, which was fully booked, featured guest talks and visits to local collections, as well as a tour of some of the university's own art collections.
5. New Volunteers
Several new volunteers started working with Archive Services in November joining our long-term volunteers Jaqui and Rosanna. Our volunteers do exceptional work for us on a variety of projects. Currently volunteers are helping catalogue the McLean water records, the records of Dundee Art Society, the papers of Professor Charles McKean and of Dr Mary Young and the Lord Roberts / Royal Dundee Institute for the Blind archives as well as helping us with indexing the University Court Minutes, the admission registers of Dundee Royal Infirmary and Canongate books.
6. Talks
Caroline has given a couple of talks on the archives to local groups recently. Over fifty members of the Perth Probus Club turned out on a cold morning to hear about the archive collections and were particularly interested in the material we hold on the world wars. Caroline also spoke to the Dundee and Rattray Civic Trust focusing on the jute related collections that the archives hold. Several members of the audience had either worked in jute factories or knew people who had been associated with the industry in Dundee or India so there was some lively discussion following the talk.
7. Making History
How can history be 'made'? If history is made then who makes it? In a recent lecture to history students Caroline discussed these questions and the role of archives and archivists in creating history, memories and identities. The students discussed the 'truth' of the historical record and the impact that archivists might have when deciding what to keep and how to catalogue and promote their collections. These issues are also addressed in a module that is currently being developed by CAIS on Public History, and which will be available from May 2013.
8. Twitter
The @UoD_Archives Twitter account now has over 340 followers which represents an increase of more than 125% during 2012. The @CAIS_Archives account continues to prove popular with over 680 users following it, while @UoD_Museums has an incredible 1732 followers. Our Twitter accounts allow our users to obtain instant news, facts and information about our activities and collections.
9. New accession
We recently obtained a copy of the rare 1841 book The State of St David's Parish; with remarks on the Moral and Physical Statistics of Dundee by the Reverend George Lewis. The Reverend Lewis was a leading champion of social reform in Dundee and a prolific writer of pamphlets and tracts. This volume is particularly fascinating in that it provides detailed qualitative and quantitative information on Dundee in the Victorian period, especially the industrial district around the Hawkhill. The book has been added to the Kinnear Local Book Collection (Kloc), which already includes some of Lewis’ other works.
10. Bumper October for information compliance
Alan has started compiling the statistics he needs to produce the annual report on information compliance in the University. October was a bumper month with 32 requests for information received on a variety of subjects. This indicates a remarkable increase in the use of the legislation and individuals' awareness of their rights, especially when we remember that the University received 78 requests in total in 2005 (the first year of FoI).
11. Completion of JISC project on the costs of FoI
The data collection for phase 2 of the JISC project to establish the cost of FoI compliance in UK universities was recently completed. The University of Dundee, along with several other universities, tracked the amount of time spent answering particular requests and provided this data to JISC. The hope is that the project will result in an exchange of good practice and a more representative understanding of the costs of complying with information legislation.
12. University Science and Medical Display
During the Dundee Science Fest, Archive Services had two 'open days' where visitors were given a tour of the archive storage areas and shown a variety of records relating to science and the University. Jennifer and Michael have now used these records to create a small display outside the Searchroom. One of the display boards highlights the work of Johannes Petrus Kuenen, Edward Waymouth Reid, Robert P. Cook and Margaret Fairlie. The second board looks at different Professors and the University buildings associated with them. The items in the display case focus on hospitals and in particular, aspects of 'occupational therapy' at Murray Royal Asylum and Sunnyside Royal Hospital.
13. Dr John Blair
Kenneth recently finished listed and numbering the papers of Dr John Blair (UR-SF 65). Dr Blair studied medicine in Dundee in the 1940s and 1950s and has had a long association with both the University of Dundee and the University of St Andrews in a variety of capacities. As well as serving for many years as a widely respected consultant at Perth Royal Infirmary, Dr Blair is internationally well known as an expert in the history of medicine. He also had a long association with the Royal Army Medical Corps. His fascinating records include material relating to his career, personal life and his many interests, notably golf.
This is the latest edition of the ARMMS and CAIS newsletter, eARMMS, that we also post here. Let us know if you would like an email copy each month.
In this edition:
- Dr John Carvell
- Benefiting from the Facts
- Digital Art for Light Night
- Scottish Art Evening Class
- New Volunteers
- Talks
- Making History
- New accession
- Bumper October for information compliance
- Completion of JISC project on the costs of FoI
- University Science and Medical Display
- Dr John Blair
1. Dr John Carvell
Archive Services has again been visited by John Carvell, who regular readers will recall had previously come to the Archives in August, when he was the subject of an oral history interview. He graduated from the School of Medicine in 1970 and during his time as a student he was the first president of the University of Dundee Sports Union. In 1968 he was part of the University's expedition to Scoresby Land in East Greenland, serving as the medical officer and sending back a number of reports that were published by the Courier and Advertiser. These offer fascinating accounts of the expedition, ranging from the dangers of crumbling snow bridges and charging musk oxen to the beauty and solitude of the land. Dr Carvell has generously deposited copies of the reports and a map of Scoresby Land with us. Before Dr Carvell’s recent visit we had made printouts of various images taken during the expedition that showed the various team members. Dr Carvell kindly took time to identify these individuals thus enabling us to update our records.
2. Benefiting from the Facts
The latest exhibition in the Tower Foyer Gallery has been curated by Claire Wallace, a part-time student on the Museum and Gallery Studies postgraduate course at the University of St Andrews, who is doing her work placement with Museum Services. Claire's exhibition looks at some of the most notable benefactors to the university and its various affiliated institutions, and features paintings, sculpture, photographs and artefacts. Among the benefactors whose generosity is highlighted are Mary Ann Baxter, founder of the university; William Ogilvy Dalgleish, one of the principal funders of the medical school; Margaret Harris, whose bequest endowed the chair of physics; and James Duncan of Jordanstone, after whom the Art College is named. Two of the portraits shown in the exhibition are being displayed for the first time since having conservation treatment funded by a grant from Museums Galleries Scotland. Material from Archive Services is also included in the exhibition.-->
3. Digital Art for Light Night
The D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum was open as part of Dundee's Christmas Light Night celebrations, and as part of the event a specially commissioned digital artwork was premiered. Daniel Brown is one of the UK's leading digital artists, and was commissioned by Museum Services as part of the Art Funded RENEW project to build a collection of art inspired by D'Arcy Thompson. Daniel has created a computer program which grows random flower forms whose textures and patterns are drawn from specimens in the Zoology Museum. The work will next be shown in an exhibition in the Gateway Galleries in St Andrews along with other works acquired for the project so far.
4. Scottish Art Evening Class
Curator Matthew Jarron recently organised a successful evening class for Continuing Education on Scottish Art of the 20th Century, arranged in collaboration with the Scottish Society for Art History and co-tutored by Lesley Lindsay. The six-week course, which was fully booked, featured guest talks and visits to local collections, as well as a tour of some of the university's own art collections.
5. New Volunteers
Several new volunteers started working with Archive Services in November joining our long-term volunteers Jaqui and Rosanna. Our volunteers do exceptional work for us on a variety of projects. Currently volunteers are helping catalogue the McLean water records, the records of Dundee Art Society, the papers of Professor Charles McKean and of Dr Mary Young and the Lord Roberts / Royal Dundee Institute for the Blind archives as well as helping us with indexing the University Court Minutes, the admission registers of Dundee Royal Infirmary and Canongate books.
6. Talks
Caroline has given a couple of talks on the archives to local groups recently. Over fifty members of the Perth Probus Club turned out on a cold morning to hear about the archive collections and were particularly interested in the material we hold on the world wars. Caroline also spoke to the Dundee and Rattray Civic Trust focusing on the jute related collections that the archives hold. Several members of the audience had either worked in jute factories or knew people who had been associated with the industry in Dundee or India so there was some lively discussion following the talk.
7. Making History
How can history be 'made'? If history is made then who makes it? In a recent lecture to history students Caroline discussed these questions and the role of archives and archivists in creating history, memories and identities. The students discussed the 'truth' of the historical record and the impact that archivists might have when deciding what to keep and how to catalogue and promote their collections. These issues are also addressed in a module that is currently being developed by CAIS on Public History, and which will be available from May 2013.
8. Twitter
The @UoD_Archives Twitter account now has over 340 followers which represents an increase of more than 125% during 2012. The @CAIS_Archives account continues to prove popular with over 680 users following it, while @UoD_Museums has an incredible 1732 followers. Our Twitter accounts allow our users to obtain instant news, facts and information about our activities and collections.
9. New accession
We recently obtained a copy of the rare 1841 book The State of St David's Parish; with remarks on the Moral and Physical Statistics of Dundee by the Reverend George Lewis. The Reverend Lewis was a leading champion of social reform in Dundee and a prolific writer of pamphlets and tracts. This volume is particularly fascinating in that it provides detailed qualitative and quantitative information on Dundee in the Victorian period, especially the industrial district around the Hawkhill. The book has been added to the Kinnear Local Book Collection (Kloc), which already includes some of Lewis’ other works.
10. Bumper October for information compliance
Alan has started compiling the statistics he needs to produce the annual report on information compliance in the University. October was a bumper month with 32 requests for information received on a variety of subjects. This indicates a remarkable increase in the use of the legislation and individuals' awareness of their rights, especially when we remember that the University received 78 requests in total in 2005 (the first year of FoI).
11. Completion of JISC project on the costs of FoI
The data collection for phase 2 of the JISC project to establish the cost of FoI compliance in UK universities was recently completed. The University of Dundee, along with several other universities, tracked the amount of time spent answering particular requests and provided this data to JISC. The hope is that the project will result in an exchange of good practice and a more representative understanding of the costs of complying with information legislation.
12. University Science and Medical Display
During the Dundee Science Fest, Archive Services had two 'open days' where visitors were given a tour of the archive storage areas and shown a variety of records relating to science and the University. Jennifer and Michael have now used these records to create a small display outside the Searchroom. One of the display boards highlights the work of Johannes Petrus Kuenen, Edward Waymouth Reid, Robert P. Cook and Margaret Fairlie. The second board looks at different Professors and the University buildings associated with them. The items in the display case focus on hospitals and in particular, aspects of 'occupational therapy' at Murray Royal Asylum and Sunnyside Royal Hospital.
13. Dr John Blair
Kenneth recently finished listed and numbering the papers of Dr John Blair (UR-SF 65). Dr Blair studied medicine in Dundee in the 1940s and 1950s and has had a long association with both the University of Dundee and the University of St Andrews in a variety of capacities. As well as serving for many years as a widely respected consultant at Perth Royal Infirmary, Dr Blair is internationally well known as an expert in the history of medicine. He also had a long association with the Royal Army Medical Corps. His fascinating records include material relating to his career, personal life and his many interests, notably golf.
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