This week I went very much back to basics and found myself
in the archive, both in a physical and digital sense, conducting original primary
research. I spent the best part of the week examining documents, some of which
were over 200 years old, and loved every single minute of it – well, mostly, but
all in good time! There was a sense of urgency in my attempts to plan as many
archive visits as possible as I have a couple of big ‘events’ coming up in the next
few months and as we all know, early preparation – especially given that I’m
starting the PhD in September – is always a good idea! I do slightly feel as if
I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, however I do tend to thrive under the
pressure and I’m really excited about each of the projects!
So, I started this little research binge at Tower Hamlets
Local History Library and Archive which was my first experience of a Borough
Archive, unless you equate it to a County archive, then Surrey History Centre
would be awarded that accreditation. But I digress. But how did I end up there
one might ask? And in fact a couple of people have asked me that very question,
as it’s a bit off the beaten track and not the most obvious choice to have
made.
Well it was in fact the result of an enquiry placed with the
Museum of London Docklands in search of material that might shed further light
on the life and business of Charles Jamrach.
As part of my ongoing research I really want to try and figure out which
London Docks Jamrach was importing into and whether any manifests survive that
might tell us a bit more about the transportation of exotic cargo from ‘source’
to the ‘middle man/distributor’. It was therefore through correspondence with the
archivist at the Museum of London Docklands that the suggestion was made that I
make enquires with Tower Hamlets Library and Archive, as it was explained to me
they hold material that focuses expressly on the Borough of Tower Hamlets. So
this is exactly what I did and having received a positive response that they do
hold some material, off I went, fortunately on a Saturday which meant no need
to take a day of work!
It transpires that
the Archive and Library is open on the 1st and 3rd
Saturday of the month, which for others in a position like I am is a huge
benefit. Generally speaking, most archives tend to run 9-5 hours and so if you’re
working, conducting research requires you taking holiday. But not in this case.
The discovery of Saturday opening hours, especially in relation to a small and
locally funded archive, that I expect only attracts a certain niche of
researchers, was therefore a hugely pleasant surprise.
What I found was an archive with a lot of character but one I
couldn’t help feel harks back to a bygone age. There was lots of wood cladding
and retrograde steel shelfs and I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the cataloguing
system or lack thereof - an online version is coming soon which is fantastic,
but as a researcher you are completely dependent on the assistance of the
archive staff and of course, they can’t always know what you are looking for,
because half the time you don’t really know until you find it!
I suppose I’ve been very spoilt in what I’ve experienced in
other archives before now, as they’ve tended to be the larger, well-funded
ones. For example, I am used to drawing up a list with reference numbers of
what I’d like to see before I turn up, or the very least will have arranged
this with an archivist beforehand. However that didn’t happen in this case. I
was just told to turn up but then when I arrived, I was asked to provide
references – catch 22. There is also a further complication which has arisen
through subsequent correspondence because referencing on the original material
isn’t particularly clear and it’s therefore been difficult for me to supply an
accurate reference number for an item I’ve requested a copy of.
I feel pretty useless being so vague about it, as it’s
normally something I am very particular about. I want to be able to go back to
the original material and re-source what I found, but I also want others to be
able to do the same thing if and when they need to – to both corroborate and
question my work. And this was also made difficult by the fact that in a number
of cases, the material I was looking consisted of newspaper clippings, cut out
from the original newspapers and merely stuck to pieces of card, not necessarily
with their provenance labelled anywhere. I found this all quite prohibiting as
a researcher, so while I may have found some great material, and some pictures
I’m very pleased to have found (we now have a face for the name for example),
I’m a little hesitant to use them, as I’m not entirely sure where they’ve come
from - at least not at the moment. All in all, it felt a little haphazard if I’m
honest, but, on a positive note we did get there in the end and the archivist
was very helpful in producing a lot more material that I had anticipated being
available, so all in all it was a very beneficial visit and I left on a bit of
a high it has to be said.
I also had my first microfiche experience at Tower Hamlets
Archive which was simply terrifying. Never having used it before I did ask for
a tutorial, which the archivist was very happy to provide, but the whole
process still scared the life out of me and I had horrible visions of pushing
the button too fast and the film bursting into flames and being lost forever.
I’m not sure I’d race to use it again – I’d much rather stick to digital
archives or those with pages I can turn!
So high on the success from earlier in the week I then
headed off to another, arguably more well-known and well used archive, where I
spent the next two days. The first day was brilliant. I was very impressed with
the archive, the organisation and the staff who were very friendly and accommodating
and who helped to create a really nice environment in which to work. As
sometimes happens, the material was not all relevant or what I had been hoping
to find, but I did find a few nice surprises and had a bit of a refresher in
reading 19th century italicised handwriting. It felt really good to
be back in the archive, in a more traditional sense – it had been too long, so all
in all I had a really nice and productive day.
However, the second day, or rather, the last half an hour of
that second day, was a completely different story. When it hit shift change we
ended up with a bit of a jobsworth on the desk and I left feeling completely enraged.
The demeanour of that particular archivist is exactly what can put ordinary
members of the public off going to archives and what helps to preserve the image
that archives are only for the use of the ‘elite’ and members of the ‘academy’.
This particular archivist didn’t attempt to educate, but reprimanded in quite
an unpleasant tone. Hands up, my original set up wasn’t as it should be, I did
have part of the file (a corner) hanging over the edge of the desk, and rightly
so she told me to place it more centrally on the desk – fine, I don’t have a
problem with that. What I do have a problem with is her both doing it for me
and the tone that she adopted. Teach me, don’t lecture me.
But the second thing that also really got me was being told
that I couldn’t hold up the documents or angle them ever so slightly in an
attempt to decipher, what is quite difficult handwriting to read. I am a
historian. I appreciate that documents are fragile and I didn’t take the
decision to lift that particular document lightly. Had it been fragile, or
tearing or weak in any way I wouldn’t have chosen to look it at that way. I
assessed what was in front of me and reacted suitably. And I think that
particular archivist needs to appreciate that. As visitors to the archive, we’re
not all inferior because we don’t hold the title of archivist.
Documents like those I had been viewing, have been kept to
be studied and that’s all I was doing. There was no man handling, just holding
it lightly at different angles – and the insistence that they could offer a
magnifying glass, I’m afraid, wasn’t go to make that task any easier. The size of
the text wasn’t the issue, but had I been asked rather than pre-judged, I might
have been able to explain that.
I know archives have rules and guidelines for a reason, but
I also think the value in their existence is the use people are able to make of
them. Provided people are respectful and careful with the material they handle,
we shouldn’t be reprimanded for how we hold a document. It’s a bit backward and
old fashioned for my liking - I wouldn’t be surprised if this same archivist favoured
the white glove approach as well!
Just why I’m on my soapbox - this particular individual even
prohibited a visitor taking a picture of the library. Not specific items or
artefacts, just the room as an entity. I mean come on?! Archives shouldn’t be
closeted, mysterious entities shut off from the world. They can offer so much,
but people need to know they are there in the first place. If anything, that’s
what I took most from my experience of Tower Hamlets Archive. I needed to know
it was there before it could be of any use to me and what use it was?! The
whole thing just really grated on me – especially as it didn’t appear to be the
archives’ ethos, just the ethos of that particular archivist.
I can’t help but think, if I felt intimidated having used
numerous archives in the past, how would someone inexperienced feel? It
really would be enough to put some people off and it continues to promote this
elitist approach to archival study and that is something I really resent. I
think so many organisations have come so far in accepting ‘modern’ historical
practice and in welcoming those from outside the academy, but some and some individuals, have yet to catch up with that philosophy. So yes, you could say that
particular archivist put a right downer on the day.
To be continued…
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