5 tips to help you in the archives
For many History students, trips to archives and accessing primary sources are part of the excitement of undertaking a History degree. Despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions limiting in-person visits, there are many sources that are available digitally and may act as a way of fulfilling that gap. Thus, we (Tamanna and Rahma), thought it might useful to share some of our tips that helped us whilst conducting some research in the Cadbury Research Library, located at the University of Birmingham.
1) Browse the online catalogue
Like most archives, The Cadbury Research Library has an extensive online catalogue – a good place to start for beginners! It is worth consulting as they offer descriptions of what you can hope to find in the archive, helping to indicate the feasibility of your project. If you are still unsure of the next steps, it is also worthwhile getting in touch with the staff at the archives via email to help direct you to the best sources for your research project. Archivists’ increased familiarity with the archives means that they are invaluable in recommending additional documents to enhance your wider understanding around your specific research project, which can only help reinforce the analytical edge we are all looking for.
2) Skimming and scanning is essential
Throughout your degree, you will inevitably get better at this skill as you read extensively for your seminars and essays. Even though it is sensible to give yourself reasonable time for your visit to the archive, utilising that time well will require the skimming of documents. For us, we were interested in information about international students at the University of Birmingham in The Guild News between the years 1958-1962. By skimming each page, we were able to cover the full four years. In doing so, we were also able to identify really key information that stood out. It is also possible that you might find something in the later years that will pinpoint you to more specific dates earlier on.
3) Keeping accurate notes throughout
We had initially planned to present our research at the Becoming Birmingham: History, Diversity and Collaboration event in the early months of 2020. However with the pandemic, this was eventually rescheduled for December 2020. Whilst the correct and practical decision was made, this also meant that there was considerable time between actually visiting the archives and presenting our information. What made our task easier was ensuring we kept accurate notes on any relevant information and took supplementary pictures of the articles.
4) Maintain a timeline when working with a collection of sources
As our research focused on The Guild News from 1958- 1962, bearing in mind a timeline for student activities helped us track certain events across the years. For example, knowing which month the Carnival and Overseas Freshers Conference occurred enabled us to actively search though those months in the paper to see the progress and possibly changing reception of such events. In this way, maintaining a timeline of key dates especially when reviewing a collection helps to provide you with reference points during your research.
5) Triggering information
During our research, we came across an incredibly racist letter from a resident in Birmingham that was published in 1961 on the front page of The Guild News. This was trying to demonstrate the backlash that the Students Committee Against Racial Segregation (S.C.A.R.S) were facing at the time. As a Black person, I was initially taken aback at what I had come across. The situation may differ if you are researching a more sensitive topic as that may allow you to be more prepared for such situations. In the instance that you are not, it is helpful to focus on the ways in which the source can help with your historical enquiry.
Whilst it may be some time before we are able to visit the archives physically, we hope that these tips will be beneficial to refer to when the time does come!
Thanks to the Cadbury Research Library, and to Rahma and Tamanna