Abstract
John Pelan, Director of the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA), explores some of the challenges around searching Scotland’s archives online. Difficulties in accessing information, knowing what exists and where to find it, and the multiplicity of online catalogues can be confusing and frustrating for users, particularly inexperienced and amateur family historians. The article provides information about the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA) plans, working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, to create a new portal for accessing Scotland’s archive collections including those of universities, local authorities, businesses and communities. The portal, which will be a development of the existing Scottish Archive Network resource, will allow users to search across many catalogues for both collection and item level records. The new portal will be an invaluable resource for genealogists, researchers, academics, students, historians and members of the public by providing guidance on understanding, using and accessing archives. SCA expects that the site will become a powerful advocacy tool for archives, showing not just the breadth and depth of collections across Scotland but highlighting the many ways that archives can be used inform and improve society. For genealogists, but also for everyday users of archives as well as potential new users, this portal will open new channels of research and local history.
Highlights
John Pelan, Director of the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA), explores some of the challenges around searching Scotland’s archives online
The word ‘archives’ is hard to define, as it is can be used in different ways, depending on context
For the purposes of this paper, archives can be defined as a collection of items which form evidence of a person or institution and are deemed to be worth long-term preservation for research or other purposes
Summary
John Pelan, Director of the Scottish Council on Archives (SCA), explores some of the challenges around searching Scotland’s archives online. For everyday users of archives as well as potential new users, this portal will open new channels of research and local history. Archives are the documented memory of people, places, history and the nation. They tell our stories, enrich our lives, connect us with the past and give us a sense of identity.
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