Monday, January 29, 2018

Books That Changed History



A 2017 publication which will attract the attention of bibliophiles, art historians, literary scholars and many others, Books That Changed History published by Dorling Kindersley features essays on seventy-two works, ranging from Ancient Egyptian books of the dead to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

See a review of this title at Reviews & Discussion of "Books that changed history"

Some original and some facsimile editions of many of these works feature in the James Hardiman Library's Special Collections. Over the next months we will put our copies of some of these titles on display in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room for you to enjoy, together with the relevant commentary contained in Books that changed History. The initial display features the first volume of Carl Linneus' System Naturae, published in France in 1789. This copy is from the University's Old Library collection, features in the early library printed catalogues and bears the stamp of Queen's College, Galway.


The second chosen title in this display is a modern complete and annotated edition of the Chronicle of the world 1793, commonly known as the Nuremberg Chronicle. This fine edition was published by Taschen in 2001. It is stored in our Special Collections and can be read on request in the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room on the ground floor of the Hardiman Research Building (Room HRB005).


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

'Archives and Education' - CFP Open for Special Issue of ARA Journal, 'Archive and Records'



Archives and Records: The Journal of the Archives and Records Association

Now welcoming Submissions for a Special Issue on Archives and Education: New Pedagogies and Practice.

This special issue of Archive and Records seeks to explore innovative pedagogical approaches to engagement with archival collections at higher education institutions. Of particular interest are submissions that explicate change through pedagogical practice in both institutional strategy and the engaged population. The issue aims to facilitate a dialogue between researchers, practitioners, archivists, curators, users, educators and scholars and to address questions such as the following:
        What are the most pressing pedagogical demands being placed on archival collections at higher education institutions and how has this impacted on short, medium and long terms engagement strategies?
        How have archival teams attempted to engage with their target demographics and what successes have been achieved in the attraction of new audiences?
        How has pedagogical design been integrated into the development of existing and/or new engagement strategies?
        What are the technological challenges associated with such pedagogical engagement and how has fusion of traditional archival practice with pedagogical design enhanced the learning experience for all involved?
        How have archivist/teachers developed and embedded critical thinking and archival literacy skills into key partnerships for new impacts in teaching and learning?
        How have academic archive repositories expanded their user base into non-traditional user groups?
        How have material culture and digital pedagogies combined within the learning space?
        What has been the impact of the application of learning theory in practice on the archival teams?
        How can archival teams begin to think about supporting students across a wide variety of disciplines through pedagogical design and practice?
        What are the challenges that archival teams are facing in the future and how can relationships with educational/designers help to develop programmes that respond to the needs of the students population with a measurable impact?

Academic libraries are being refocused and repositioned within the traditional infrastructure of higher education and learning. Library and archive repositories are the engine room of such higher education institutions, fibrously connected to the objectives of impactful and innovative learning, teaching research. Such archive resources support and inspire students in response to a wide variety of demands. Increasing pressure on academic libraries and archival collections in particular, to demonstrate impact, is prompting institutions to evaluate established practices, respond to demand and to plan for the future. 

However, in the last thirty years these demands have changed along with a rapid, although not in parallel, evolution of technology, provoking debate amongst this community around how to pedagogically support engagement with collections with demonstrable output. New developments in pedagogical design for student engagement also predominate, responding to the need for the development of 21st century skills that students require to make a successful transition into employment. The digital archive is becoming ever-more integrated into the digital classroom – but what are the implications for this as regards learning through and with tangible objects and the physical record? The role of ‘archivist-as-teacher’ and mediator of the educational experience is taking greater prominence. The reading-room becomes an extension of the lecture theatre.

Current discourse and evidence places high prominence on transferable graduate attributes – those who can learn and work co-dependently as well as independently. Society today, owing to recent global economic and political changes, maintains a cautious position and distrust towards information and data. Documented evidence and testimony has become weaponised. The faculties of critical thinking, evaluation, analytical skills and academic/argumentative writing can be learnt directly from creative engagement with learning through encountering archive collections.

Academic libraries underpin such learning experiences and skills development through archive literacies. There is a need, therefore, to develop a better understanding of how the library and archival collections of higher education institutions can meet the expectations placed upon them while concomitantly meeting the expectations of increasingly dynamic pedagogical environments.
We invite papers on any aspect of pedagogical engagement with archival collections. Submissions to this special issue might consider, although are not limited to, the following themes:

        Archival collections and the educational practitioner
        The archivist and the 21st century student
        Archives and material culture in the digital era – learning through encountering
        Archival collections and technological enhanced learning experiences
        Pedagogical design for engagement with archival collections
        21st century skill development in the archival environment
        Educational theory in archival practice
        Managing and facilitating pedagogical engagement with archives
        The impact of evolving technology on short, medium and long term planning

Further details:
Prospective authors are invited to contact the Guest Editors, in order to discuss proposed articles for this special issue of Archives and Records which will be published in Spring 2020.

Dr. Paul Flynn, Lecturer in TechInnovation (NUI Galway) paul.flynn@nuigalway.ie
Barry Houlihan, Archivist (NUI Galway) barry.houlihan@nuigalway.ie

Timelines: 
The deadline for expressions of interest is 31 November 2018. All submissions will be double blind peer-reviewed and should be presented in line with the Archives and Records style guidelines.
The final deadline for article submissions is 30 June 2019.


Archives and Records is an international peer-reviewed journal which publishes original research contributions to the fields of archives and records management and conservation. Published on behalf of the Archives and Records Association and originally published as The Journal of the Society of Archivists, it deals with the very latest developments in these fields, including the challenges and opportunities presented by new media and information technology. As well as being issued to ARA Members, Archives and Records has over 3,000 Institutional and Individual subscribers around the world. The journal is published in hard copy and online by Taylor & Francis twice annually. Topics of recent and forthcoming special issues include ‘Archives and Museums’, ‘Archives and the visual arts’, ‘Born digital description’, ‘The local record office in the UK’ and ‘Archives and public history’.