Thread by @ReassessHistory

So, @UkNatArchives propose changes to document ordering to 24 files a day, what is the practical impact on some stake holders such as historians?

Grab a cuppa. Pull up a chair. We may be here a lil' while. /1
#history #archives

In short, archival work is a lesson in time management. Historians particularly usually want to blitz an eye watering amount of material, scraping for any scraps of information.

A good number work part time or are on low incomes, so prosperous productivity is essential. /2

Technology has really helped.

I personally like to stack up files and blitz through them. I'm one of a majority who photographs material to view later.

Sure you may skim a page on site, but the real study is at home/in the office, often working late /3

https://twitter.com/dancohen/status/1214202045818953729

When I started about 13 years ago, I transcribed what I needed... crawling through files.

Given the nature of work, I'd be lucky to transcribe 15k-20k a day of material, which could be a few (or even just one) file. I consider that a good rate. /4

So you'd get home knackered, with wankers' cramp, and grimace before the next day to do it all over.

Camera policies shifted and I moved over, the change was immense. You could crack through 10-20x the amount of material a day. BOOM. Done. /5

For many of us the result was like a shot of heroin, as files are swapped, exchanged - and you don't have to rely on someone's interpretation of what is there, you can read it verbatim.

A pretty big deal for democratising research and work, esp with file transfer.

/6

The shift towards allowing cameras represented a revolution in research affairs, helping thousands of different stakeholders throw themselves into projects or hire researchers to cost-effectively copy material.

However time remains the enemy, and productivity the goal...
/7

Many historians research in their spare time or hire bulk researchers to carry the load. So you have a limited window to get things done.

This doubly applies to those on low incomes or working irregular hours, from deprived areas or making long commutes to view material. /8

Throw on top of this students in full time education wishing to look at information, or community projects learning the ropes, institutions risk smothering exactly the new diverse voices that they claim to encourage. In many cases the result is that people walk away. /9

This is compounded by archives who have very odd opening hours, on bizarre days, and apply other restrictive policies - rendering several places a no-go unless you can, frankly, afford to waste a lot of limited time.

IWM stands out in this regard. /10

I know a large number of bright, promising young voices who've binned it in the last decade or so.

So... as a rule researchers (especially the younger demographic) want to trawl data, with cameras, and analyse later at home/on a commute to work, or in the evenings. /11

Restrictions at the TNA will limit all researchers to no more than 24 documents a day, which it is - as a result - more than feasible to crack through, especially if tiny files. I think my record is 60 plus or something.

That said you will be able to preorder up to 40... /12

but it appears that only 8 visitors a day will be able to use that feature. 8 a day.

4,654 visitors went to TNA in June 2019. It's open 5 days a week. about 232.7 a day. Of these, 3.4% would be able to preorder 40 files.

That is ludicrous. 3.4% /13

All of these files have to be from the same series, which further limits versatility even for professional researchers - who'll have fairly scattered lists from clients.

So unless you are say, blitzing large war diaries or such, you could still be finishing very early. /14

The less productive you are, the longer the work will take, so you need to correspondingly spend more time travelling to/from archives (and associated carbon cost to say nothing of £££), to achieve much less.

So we'll hear from less diverse/younger voices. Again. /15

The face-punching irony is that visitor numbers are falling at TNA, and they claim to want more younger visitors, with a plethora of events to stimulate growth.

Either they don't get what the problem is or they don't care.

It's a deeply concerning future problem. /16

So where does this leave us?

Odds on that researcher/student project and time costs increase, leading to more pressure across the board. Productivity of users will decrease.

That said, who needs a new generation of dynamic experts from diverse backgrounds anyway? /thread