2023 – a year in review

As we move into the new year we take time to look back over 2023 and reflect on the work of Archives and Special Collections in the last twelve months.

Signature of the first Duke of Wellington

Wellington 40

2023 was a significant year for the Archives as it marked the fortieth anniversary of the arrival of the papers of the first Duke of Wellington at Southampton after they were allocated to the University under national heritage legislation. The collection arrived on 17 March 1983, bringing to Southampton the University’s first major manuscript collection, leading to the creation of an Archives Department and the development of a major strand of activity within the University Library.

To celebrate this momentous occasion we hosted a number of events and activities throughout the year. It started with a Wellington 40 Twitter campaign, where both staff and researchers who had worked on the archive shared their favourite Wellington document. In March (the month when the collection arrived) we ran a series of blogs looking at forty years of work on the collection; conservation; events and the Wellington Pamphlets collection. This was followed by a series of Wellington themed blogs using the letters of the Duke’s name – starting, appropriately enough, with W for Waterloo.

On 7 July we hosted an in-person event, providing attendees with the opportunity to see behind the scenes, meet the curators and learn more about the work of the Archives and Special Collections, including conservation. As well as a selection of archival material on view, there was also an exhibition in the Level 4 Gallery reflecting on forty years of curation of the collection. And the visit was rounded off with tea and a talk by Dr Zack White about his research on the Wellington Archive.

Wellington 40 exhibition marking forty years of curation of the Wellington Archive, Level 4 Gallery

In October, the Special Collections Gallery opened again for the first time since 2020 with an exhibition The Duke presents his compliments. Taking the Wellington Archive as a starting point, the exhibition looks at the development of the archive collections since 1983. It continues to run weekdays (1000-1600) from 8 January to 16 February, so there is still time to come and have a look.

Events

As well as the event hosted by Archives and Special Collections as part of the Wellington 40 celebrations in July, we hosted visits for the Jewish Historical Society of England on 9 October and for the Come and Psing Psalmody event at the Turner Sims concert hall on 22 October. This latter event showcased some of the West Gallery music material collected by Rollo Woods, who was an expert in this field as well as a former Deputy Librarian at the University.

Rollo Woods

In November we ran an activity for the Hands-on Humanities day at the Avenue Campus. For the activity intrepid travellers were asked to take their archives passport and embark on a journey learning more about the collections. Feedback from those attending was very positive, with participants finding it a fun way to find out about the collections and the university. Highlights noted were “learning about history”, “discovering unexpected items” and, of course, “using the quill”.

Image of knitted pineapple purse from the Montse Stanley collection with magnifying glass and quill.

The Archives and Special Collections has continued to support teaching and research throughout the year, hosting sessions introducing students to archives for a range of undergraduate and master courses. Karen Robson and Jenny Ruthven have been involved in leading sessions on the curation of specialist libraries and on archives for the new MA in Holocaust Studies that runs for the first time in 2023/4. Karen will be leading further practical sessions on this course in the second semester in 2024. We also led two group projects as part of the second-year history undergraduate course in early 2023. This course asks the students to focus on archive sources for their project and for this year we offered a project about nineteenth-century press and politicians, utilising material from the archive of third Viscount Palmerston, and a project based on the papers of the Women’s Campaign for Soviet Jewry. 

Protest at Wembley Arena by members of the Women’s Campaign for Soviet Jewry [MS254/A980/4/22/178/3]

Collections and projects

Although the collection arrived and was reported in the review for last year, the Ben Abeles archive was officially launched in an event hosted by the Parkes Institute in June 2023. Karen Robson formed part of the panel for this hybrid event which attracted an international audience. Details of the Abeles collection is accessible in the Archive Catalogue.

Amongst the new Jewish archival and interfaith collections for 2023 were the papers of Professor Alice Eckardt, a leading scholar and activist in the field of Christian-Jewish relations, relating to her connection with a leading British figure in the same field – Revd Dr James Parkes. We have, throughout the year, acquired additional papers for existing collections, such as for Eugene Heimler and the Jewish Youth Fund. We also acquired more material documenting student life in previous decades with papers for the Med Soc reviews in the 1980s.

We have continued to develop our maritime archaeology archival holdings and the most sizeable acquisition of material this year has been the working papers of Peter Marsden relating to shipwrecks.

Part way through the year, Archives and Special Collections was the recipient of a grant from the Honor Frost Foundation for a project supporting work to make over 5000 digital images created from slides in the Honor Frost Archive, together with catalogue descriptions for each of the images, available online. The project is due to be completed by 31 January 2024.

Two stone anchors [MS439/A4278/HFA/8/3/12/8]: one of the images that is part of the Honor Frost project

Archives searchroom services

2023 saw the expansion of the Archives and Special Collections Virtual Reading Room service offering remote access to collections through digital appointments. This is a growing element to the archive reading room service and usage has grown by 28% in the last year. For information on how to book a digital appointment look at the Special Collections website access page.

This usage has been paralleled by a growing quantity of enquiries being handled within Archives – rising by 11% in the last year.

Looking ahead

In 2024 we are looking ahead to marking the 240^th anniversary of the birth of third Viscount Palmerston with events, including social media programmes and an exhibition relating to the Palmerston family and Broadlands. We have a number of projects ongoing and new for 2024, including working with the Parkes Institute to create a series of films promoting the collections and a three-year conservation project on the Schonfeld archive. Do look out for news on our social media channels.

Virtual Reading Rooms: the why’s and how’s of digital appointments

Did you know that we opened our Virtual Reading Room (VRR) last year? Since February 2022 you have been able to book a digital appointment (via Microsoft Teams) to access much of the material we hold. The service has been well-received; and we’re continuing our promotion to ensure all who might be interested are aware that it’s something we offer.

VRRs constituted part of the emergency response of many libraries and archives to the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. While we are eager, post-Covid, to welcome people into our searchroom, and encourage interaction with original material, this is not an option for everyone. VRRs enable institutions to provide geographically remote access to a worldwide audience. This can only be a good thing; consequently we have integrated digital appointments to run in parallel with our in-person offer. If you are unable to visit Southampton in person, this might be the answer for you!

Many of our VRR users are based in the UK – London, certainly but also the Midlands and northern England. We’ve had several bookings from Israel, reflecting our wealth of Jewish material, as well as Europe, South Asia, North America and Canada. We offer appointments at 1000-1100 | 1300-1400 & 1430-1530 (UK time) which does means that the hours can be anti-social, depending on where you are based.

Users have different aims when requesting a digital appointment. Some may just want to get a feel for an item and establish if they want to make a reprographics request or visit in the future. Some may want to view the whole item, others are looking for particular features. Most researchers using the VRR want to do one or more of the following: 

• Conduct preliminary research or scoping exercise as a precursor to a physical visit 
• To make a reprographics request 
• Check single documents 
• Referencing clarification

Benefits of VRRs

Many of our collections have a broad, international reach and the VRR helps to ensure they are accessible to all as the University enables and supports broader global engagement.

Time saving: they allow users to evaluate if they want to schedule an in-person visit as they can provide useful information beyond current catalogue descriptions. They are an effective use of time enabling people to scope out their potential visit.

Gentle introduction: VRRs can be a ‘welcome mat’ or on-ramp to make an in-person visit less intimidating. If you have not used our service before you may find a digital appointment a useful first step.

Travel constraints: the service removes barriers such as restricted funds, time or mobility as well as making it easier for students, people who work full time and those with childcare responsibilities.

Ecological benefits: reducing long-haul and short-haul travel

The visualiser set up for a digital appointment

Realistic expectations

Due to limitations of the equipment, not all items are suitable for digital appointments, in particular large items such as rolled maps and large bound volumes. We will always be happy to discuss the best way to access your chosen material to ensure the long-term safety of the collections. Additionally, it’s important to have realistic expectations on how much can be achieved in a one-hour session. We have found three items to be more than enough for most appointments. Naturally it depends on the extent of the items and the degree to which someone wishes to study it. Again, we are always happy to give advice.

Sample of the feedback we’ve received

Looking to the future

The Special Collections Division will continue its advocacy work to enhance discoverability and accessibility of this service. The International Alliance of Research Library Associations is considering a central space, such as an IARLA VRR Register, where researchers and other interested parties can find which institutions offer VRRs.

We currently offer digital appointments on Mondays and Fridays via Microsoft Teams. You can order up to three items to view in their one-hour slot. You are free to book subsequent appointments if you wish to view more material. Please email archives@soton.ac.uk to make an appointment.