SC&A is now an Accredited Archive!

Posted on December 1, 2017 by Joanna Baines

Some excellent news to start our December off: last month, Special Collections & Archives was awarded Accredited Archive status! (We’re choosing to take this as meaning we’re officially awesome, but you probably knew that already…)

This accreditation from the UK Archive Service Accreditation Partnership is the UK quality standard which recognises good performance in all areas of archive service delivery. The standard looks at an organisation’s ability to develop, care for, and provide access to its collections, bringing the total number archive services achieving this to 104 nationwide.

Emma Mires-Richards, Head of Academic Liaison states:

‘We are delighted to have received accredited status from The National Archives, this is a fantastic achievement and recognition nationally for our service and teams delivering it. Achieving accredited status demonstrates that the University of Kent’s Special Collections and Archives met clearly defined national standards relating to management and resourcing, in the care of our unique collections and what the service offers to our entire range of users.’

We’ve had a very busy year (as you’ll see soon, with our forthcoming review of 2017 post) and it’s wonderful to receive recognition for the hard work our team does. Archives Accreditation is a fantastic award to receive and we’re very excited to keep working to deliver an outstanding service to you!

Flook believes his guarding of the Tiny Bible was the key to our success

Special Collections & Archives is on the move!

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Joanna Baines

The eagle-eyed social media followers amongst you may have noticed something exciting going on recently: our new basement area is finally finished and our collections are on the move to their 21st-century home in Templeman Library A!

The benefits of the move are going to be huge for us (and for you, too): our collections will all be stored in the same space again, so it will be much easier and quicker to access material than previously. Details of this will be coming in future, but for the moment here’s what you need to know whilst the move is going on:

Our Reading Room will remain open during the move. We took some time this summer to get our collections ready for their relocation, so we’re very happy to be able to keep our daily service running. However, as collections will be travelling across stores, we need as much notice as possible if you’d like to come in and see material – ideally a week. It’s very unlikely we’ll be able to retrieve material at short notice during this time, but we’ll give you as much information as we can about when you can access material.

If you’re a student booked in for a group visit, it’s still happening! All seminars, inductions and groups are going ahead as planned.

If you’re an academic who’d like us to host a group visit, get in touch. We’re still taking bookings for seminars this term (and next year), but it may not be possible to host a customized session at the last minute unless it’s already booked in so we’d appreciate as much notice as possible.

The move is scheduled to take about three weeks. However, as with any project this size things are subject to change, so we’ll keep timings updated here and on the SC&A website.

The collections are moving, but we are not. Having completed our office move in 2015, we’re still very happy in our first floor area – you’ll be able to find staff either working with collections near the Reading Room or over in Templeman D.

It’s full steam ahead for our Christmas pantomime extravaganza! What is that, you ask? All will be revealed soon…

As ever, if you have any questions or queries about the move, please get in touch with us.

You’re invited to the launch of ‘Sex, Death and Panto’!

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Joanna Baines

The end of the Spring Term is finally upon us (farewell deadlines; hello chocolate) and with that brings the annual launch of the DR575: Victorian and Edwardian Theatre exhibition, which is being held tomorrow (5th April) at 4.30pm.

This is the second year in a row that our second-year Drama and Theatre Undergraduates have had the challenge of designing an exhibition to fit in the new Templeman Library Gallery space as part of their final assignments. This year, the students have split into two groups looking at very different topics:

Group one: Crime, Scandal and Theatre

The Victorian fascination with the gothic and macabre was a key feature of 19th century society. But when scandalous crimes – like the Jack the Ripper murders – became all too real on the streets of London, how did playwrights reflect the concerns of their audiences? This exhibition will focus on several sensations of the period and explore how the theatrical world reacted. This topic has never been explored as part of this module before, and we can’t wait to see what our students come up with.

Group two: Drury Lane Pantomime of the Late Nineteenth Century

The Theatre Royal at Drury Lane stands on the oldest site of a theatre in London. The 1812 building that stands today is the fourth theatre erected there, and it has a rich history. This exhibition will explore how Augustus Harris’ management in the late 19th century changed the fortunes of the Theatre for the better – and, in particular, how Harris’ role in establishing the Pantomime tradition. It will explore the roles of actors and actresses working at the theatre through analysing material held in Special Collections & Archives.

The Victorian and Edwardian theatre module is always a highlight of the Special Collections & Archives team’s year; this time you’ll also be able to take a look back at past exhibitions to see how far the course has developed. Come along, have a drink and discover how fantastic an insight into Victorian Britain (and beyond) our wonderful theatre collections can provide!

DR575: Victorian and Edwardian Theatre FAQs

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Joanna Baines

The Bad Girl of the Familt publicity postcard

Publicity postcard for Fred Melville’s melodrama ‘The Bad Girl of the Family’, c.1909

We’re really looking forward to welcoming students on the DR575: Victorian and Edwardian Theatre module to Special Collections & Archives this term! It’s always tremendous fun for both our team and everyone studying.

To help everyone settle in, we’ve collated a list of the most commonly asked questions we get about using Special Collections & Archives during the module. This list is by no means exhaustive, and we’ll try and update it throughout the term. However, if you have a question please do have a look through this list to see if the information you need is here. As ever, we encourage you to get in touch with any queries you might have. See you in our Reading Room!

Accessing Special Collections & Archives

How do I find material to use from Special Collections & Archives?
How do I book an appointment to view material?
Can I book in to the Reading Room with a group of people?
How can I access the playbills you hold?

Contacting Special Collections & Archives

When is the Reading Room open?
I’ve emailed you with a query – when can I expect a reply?

Handling material in Special Collections & Archives

Do I need to wear white gloves?
How do I handle this item?
What can I bring into the Reading Room?

Accessing Special Collections & Archives elsewhere

How do I find other archives for my research?
Where can I find [X] archive?
How do I contact [X] archive?

Exhibition queries

I need a scan of this item! What do I do?
How long will it take you to scan items for me?
Can I use this image for my exhibition?
What should I get my exhibition material printed on to?
Where can I get material printed?
When do I need to get items sent to the printers by?
How much does [X] cost? Can I reclaim this money? How?

Accessing Special Collections & Archives material

How do I find material to use from Special Collections & Archives?
The majority of Special Collections material can be found on LibrarySearch. There are two main ways of finding material:

You can either select ‘Special Collections’ (or ‘British Cartoon Archive’) from the drop-down box on the right-hand side of the search bar, then enter your terms…

…Or you can enter your search terms as usual, then scroll down and select ‘Collections’ from the right-hand side of the screen. You can then select ‘Special Collections’ from the list:

Some Special Collections & Archives material is currently only catalogued on our own website, so it’s worth checking both. Our catalogue can be accessed on the first page:

Enter your search terms, and then you can narrow down the results by collection/type of material/subject…

Once you’ve found an item you’d like to see in our reading room, note down as much information as possible (especially the identifier) and drop us an email.

If you’re interested in searching the British Cartoon Archive, you can search for books using LibrarySearch as above…or you can use the British Cartoon Archive catalogue to search for cartoon artwork:

You can search using the box on top right-hand side of the screen, or click Advanced Search (cartoons) to locate more specific material. By using Advanced Search, you can narrow down results by several terms (such as artist and date). Once you’ve found something you’re interested in viewing, click the image thumbnail to view a bigger version of the image or click the artist’s name to find out more information about the artwork.

If you want to view higher resolution images, or see any original artwork, please do get in touch. It’s worth noting that artwork from the British Cartoon Archive is currently stored offsite due to the Library Refurbishment so we need at least two weeks’ notice to get any material for you. Additionally, some material from the British Cartoon Archive is very fragile, so if we have a digital copy we’ll likely ask you to use that for your research instead.