Paradigm (Personal ARchives Accessible in DIGital Media) is an exemplar project to explore how archivists might select, acquire, process, store, preserve and provide access to the digital archives of individuals for the use of future researchers. Using the papers of contemporary British politicians as a testbed, the project team will evaluate existing and emerging theoretical and practical work in the fields of archival science and digital curation. We intend to learn from both disciplines and apply this knowledge to our exemplar scenario with the goal of striking a balance between theoretical principles and practical procedures. This article places the Paradigm project in the broader framework of digital preservation initiatives in the UK and abroad, introduces the key aims of Paradigm and outlines some of our initial findings. We also confront the implications of exponential growth in the creation of personal digital collections-from digital images, and music files to personal websites and blogs-and conclude with a discussion of what this means for the wider archival profession. 1
IntroductionThe Bodleian Library in Oxford and the John Rylands University Library in Manchester have long collected the personal archives of significant figures from all walks of life. These figures include among others academics, composers, diplomats, journalists, politicians, scientists and writers. Both institutions are convinced of the value of acquiring and preserving personal archives, and are conscious that if they are to continue collecting they must develop the capacity to manage and preserve hybrid paper and digital archival collections. At Oxford University Library Services (OULS), the catalyst for action on digital archives came in 2003 when OULS appointed a new 3 Understandably, both men are eager to develop the capacity to preserve digital archives in Oxford libraries. Staff at the Special Collections department of the John Rylands University Library (TRUL)are also interested in developing digital preservation expertise. In fact, archivists from the Library's Modern Literary Archives Programme have already begun some practical exploration in the area. In 2002, the Rylands' literary archivists joined forces with their peers elsewhere in the UK to embark on some small-scale experimentation with the preservation of writers' emails. They found that undertaking such exploratory work in their 'free time' severely limited what could be achieved: the work needed more staff time devoted to it, as well as dedicated IT expertise. The problem, at both institutions, was a lack of resources to examine the issue of digital preservation properly.In April 2004 a potential solution appeared on the horizon. The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) issued a call for projects under a programme entitled 'Supporting Digital Preservation and Asset Management in Institutions', and a bid to explore the preservation of hybrid paper and digital personal archives led by the University of Oxford in partnership with the University of Mancheste...
Through a case study of the long, extra‐parliamentary political career of James Acland this article demonstrates how the spoken word remained the primary form of political communication despite the challenges posed by a burgeoning print culture. Acland was politically active from the eighteen‐twenties to the late eighteen‐sixties in campaigns spanning the battle of the unstamped press to free trade, temperance, poor relief and electoral reform: in the run up to the Great Reform Act his scurrilous journalism and incendiary speeches whipped up mobs in Bristol and later Hull and during the turbulent eighteen‐forties he travelled the length and breadth of the country as an itinerant political lecturer. His peripatetic oratory bridged local and national culture, fomenting discussions and uniting dispersed audiences in national struggles for reform. His public life underlines the enduring importance of the spoken address and the pivotal role of the orator in political mobilization and persuasion during the middle decades of the nineteenth century. This article contributes to current debates on democratization and offers a challenge to James Vernon's claim that the public political sphere began to close during this period. The author contends that the vibrancy of grass‐roots political culture (as exemplified by lectures and indoor chaired meetings) represented a democratic gain rather than loss.
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