Information Scotland

The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland

October 2005 Volume 3 (5)

ICT: cataloguing

Unlocking our hidden heritage

A widespread project aiming to create electronic records of early printed materials in Britain has already unearthed some exciting material in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Project Manager Norman Rodger explains.

A much overlooked part of Britain’s national heritage is the wealth of printed material produced in the first 250 years after the invention of the printing press. As well as charting key moments in the development of English literature, this material offers contemporary accounts of major historical events, such as the English Civil War, the Union of the Crowns, the discovery of the Americas and advances in science and medicine.

For a number of reasons, many libraries have not been able to create complete electronic records of their own collections of these treasures, meaning that important information on their holdings has not been widely accessible. Now, thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, this issue is being addressed.

Originally launched as a pilot project in January 2003, the ‘Britain in Print’ project aims to provide free access for all to information about the rich collections of early British books held in some of the UK’s most important libraries.

Britain in Print will create electronic records for all pre-1700 British books in participating libraries and deliver these through a web-based catalogue and an online learning resource, which will contain high-quality information about the books and what they reveal to us about our shared past. It will also create free online learning materials that draw on these resources but which match the needs of schools and other learners.

The project is being led by Edinburgh University Library of behalf of CURL, the Consortium of Research Libraries in the British Isles, and is made up of a partnership of 15 libraries spread across the UK.

How will it work?
Britain in Print is being developed in two phases, the first of which ran from January 2003 - January 2004. Phase One of the project saw the production of an online learning resource, designed to demonstrate ways in which the above material can be used. The website contains a multimedia Introduction to Printing, supported by an interactive, searchable timeline that covers the period 1450 to 1700. In addition, working in close collaboration with staff and pupils at Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline, innovative learning materials were created to assist Higher English students in the study of Robert Henryson’s medieval Scots poem The Testament of Cresseid.

Lesley Porter, Head of English, Queen Anne High School later commented: “The study of a text such as The Testament of Cresseid was always going to challenge our pupils. With the development of the online resource, our pupils benefited in that they could access the site at any given time and this helped with homework, the writing of critical essays and revision. The uniqueness of the project has served to enhance the learning of our youngsters.” The results of the first phase can be seen on the Britain in Print website.

Phase Two
The second phase of Britain in Print was launched in March 2005 and will run until August 2007. During this stage the project will operate in two distinct areas.

Firstly, working in close cooperation with ESTC North America, a team of nine cataloguers has been recruited to work across the partnership to complete the retro-conversion of all pre-1700 materials in the partner libraries. This work will run from August 2005 until around June 2007. Partner libraries have been split into geographical clusters with one library from each employing one or more cataloguers to work between locations within the region.

Since starting work in mid-July, cataloguers at both Edinburgh University Library and the Mitchell Library in Glasgow have already unearthed some exciting material. In Glasgow, for example, staff at the Mitchell Library have discovered a copy of what is thought to be the first book ever printed in the city, The Protestation of the Generall Assemblie of the Church of Scotland, printed in 1638. There are currently only another seven editions of this publication held in the public domain within the UK.

Likewise, at Edinburgh University Library, a copy of John Ogilby’s 1671 seminal atlas “America, Being the Latest and Most Accurate Description of the New World”, has come to light. This book, which contains some fantastic illustrations and descriptions of the New World, will now be added to the four exisiting holdings that appear on CURL’s online catalogue, COPAC.

In parallel with the cataloguing activity, two additional online learning resources will be created, each of which will draw on the strengths of the materials held within the collections of the consortium. One of these will focus on a literary theme, while the other will be historical. As with Phase One, they will be designed to tie in with the school curriculum, aiming particularly at students at the upper end of the education system. The project is currently seeking schools from across the UK to assist in the development and piloting of these resources.

In addition, elements of the website begun in Phase One, such as the Timeline and the Introduction to Printing sections, will be expanded during the second stage. It is anticipated that relevant materials identified during the cataloguing will be incorporated into this work, thus integrating the two elements of the project. IS

Who’s Involved?
The Britain in Print consortium is made up of the following libraries: Belfast Public Libraries; Birmingham Libraries; Durham University Library; Edinburgh City Libraries & Information Services; Edinburgh University Library; Leeds Library and Information Services; Mitchell Library, Glasgow; Nottingham University Library; Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh; Senate House Library, University of London; Sheffield University Library; Southampton University Library; The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; University College London Library; and University of Birmingham.

Further information
For further information on the project, contact: Norman Rodger, Britain in Print Project Manager, Edinburgh University Library, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LJ, t: 0131 650 6823

Information Scotland Vol. 3 (5) October 2005

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Last updated: 09-Dec-2005