International scientific archives conference
'Future
proof: delivering scientific archives in the twenty-first century',
Sponsored by the Commission on Bibliography and Documentation of the Division of History of Science of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science, CASE (Cooperation on the Archives of Science in Europe), and Edinburgh University Library
Wednesday 9 April
10.00 Welcome to Edinburgh (Arnott Wilson, University Archivist, Edinburgh University Library) and
Introduction to the conference (Peter Harper, Director, NCUACS)
First conference theme: preserving
scientific archives, institutional, national and discipline based
perspectives
Institutional perspectives.
10.30 ‘To secure scientific records for the future. A quality issue for the university’, Renata Arovelius University Archivist, Swedish Agricultural Sciences University, Uppsala (TEXT)
11.00-13-00 ‘Future proofing High Energy Physics: CERN Archives’, Anita Hollier, CERN, Geneva (TEXT)
‘Future proof for Physics: Preserving the Record of SLAC’, Jean Deken, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, California (TEXT)
‘The Niels Bohr Archive, Copenhagen: Holdings, Users, Activities’, Felicity Pors, Niels Bohr Archive, Copenhagen, Denmark (TEXT)
14.00-15.15 ‘Dutch Science Archives Programme at the States Archives of North Holland’, Godelieve Bolten, State
Archives of North Holland, Haarlem, The Netherlands
‘Aspects of science archives provision in Poland’, Hanna Krajewski, Archives of the Polish Academy of
Sciences (TEXT) and Malgorzata Sobieszczak-Marciniak, Marie Curie Museum, Warsaw, Poland
15.45-17.00 ‘Preserving scientific archives in Brazil’, Alfredo Tolmasquim, Museu de Astronomia e Ciecias Afins,
Rio de Janeiro
‘The Servei d’Arxius de Ciència: scientific archives in Catalonia’, Xavier Roqué, Universitat Autonoma de
Barcelona (TEXT)
Thursday 10 April
‘The preservation of anthropological records: an overview of the French situation’, Marie Dominique Mouton, Université de Paris 10 (TEXT) and Ethnographical records, Odile Welfelé, Mission du Patrimoine Ethnologique, Paris
‘Seeking evidence: aspirations and tribulations of the Environmental Science Archives at the University of Victoria, British Columbia’, Jane Turner, University of Victoria, British Columbia (TEXT)
‘Molecular biology: the issues surrounding the purchase of the archives of leading molecular biologists by an American private collector’, Julia Sheppard, Wellcome Library London (TEXT)
11.30-13.00 ‘National online archival developments in the UK’, Tim Powell, NCUACS, Bath (TEXT) and Alan Borthwick, National Archives of Scotland
‘A NAHSTE Experience: Edinburgh’s History of Science, Technology and the Environment Project’, Arnott Wilson, Edinburgh University Library (TEXT)
‘The preparation of an online catalogue of scientific photographs of Ernst Mach’, Wilhelm Fuessl, Deutsches Museum, Munich (TEXT)
14.00-15.15 ‘An overview of Italian electronic access projects’, Giovanni Paoloni, Universita di Roma ‘La Sapienza’
‘The archives of the Museo Nacional de Liengas Naturales, Madrid’, Juana Molina Nortes, Museo Nacional de Liengas Naturales
Friday 11 April
09.15-11.00 ‘Difficult to Document: Physics in Government and Industry’, Joseph Anderson, American Institute of Physics (TEXT)
‘Archivitalization of science archives: new techniques in making science archives understandable’, Patrick van den Nieuwenhof, Vrie Universiteit Brussel
‘A current project with the IAEA Division of Radiation and Waste Safety: The transfer of information relevant to the safety of radioactive waste disposal facilities to future generations’, Gavan McCarthy, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne
11.30-13.00 ‘Issues in collection building: documenting the work and lives of women scientists at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America’, Harvard University Megan Sniffin Marinoff, Schlesinger Library, Harvard
‘Women in Science: The Imperial College Experience’, Anne Barrett, Imperial College Archives
This international conference brought together archivists from 16 countries in Europe, Australia and North and South America.
The conference was introduced by the co-organisers, Arnott Wilson for the University of Edinburgh Library and Peter Harper, Director of the National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists and President of the IUHPS Commission on Bibliography and Documentation. The conference pursued a number of strands in contemporary scientific archives.
The first strand was preserving scientific archives. There were contributions from a range of institutions, including an essentially traditional repository with large paper and photographic holdings (Felicity Pors of the Niels Bohr Archive, Copenhagen), a university repository responding innovatively to the legal record-keeping requirements of the State (Renata Arovelius, Swedish Agricultural Sciences University, Uppsala), and research centres attuned to the working and record keeping practices of scientists today. Here the conference heard about contrasting experiences of the archivists of two high energy physics programmes, Anita Hollier of CERN in Geneva and Jean Deken of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California. National perspectives were introduced by Godelieve Bolten (The Netherlands), Hanna Krajewska (Poland), Alfredo Tolmasquim (Brazil) and Xavier Roque (Catalonia and Spain).
This strand concluded with consideration of discipline-based
perspectives. Marie-Dominique Mouton
of the University of Paris and Odile Welfelé of the Mission du
Patrimoine Ethnologique, Paris, gave a anthropological and ethnographical
perspectives, while Jane Turner spoke on the challenges of documenting
environmental science at the University of Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada. The session concluded with Julia
Sheppard of the Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of
Medicine, London, giving the conference the latest news on the purchase and
sale of molecular biology archives by an American private collector. During this part of the conference speakers
considered the emerging hybrid environment of paper and electronic records and
the need to respect traditional archive work while responding to the
e-environment. A recurring theme was
the varying importance attached to the preservation of raw data in different
disciplines.
The second conference strand looked at developments in
electronic access to information about archives. As well as looking at developments related to the important
collaborative networking projects in the UK (Tim Powell, Alan
Borthwick and Arnott Wilson), the conference heard about
projects in Germany (Wilhelm Fuessl, Deutsches Museum, Munich), Italy (Giovanni
Paolini, University of Rome) and Spain (Juana Molina Nortes, Museo
Nacional de Liengas Naturales, Madrid, Spain).
The third major strand was understanding scientific archives. There were impressive presentations from Joseph Anderson of the American Institute of Physics’ Center for History of Physics on the Center’s pioneering documentation research projects that had provided blueprints for documenting science archives worldwide, and Gavan McCarthy of the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, on his current involvement with the International Atomic Energy Authority on the development of strategies for the long-term preservation and transfer of information relating to radioactive waste disposal. Patrick van den Nieuwenhof (Free University of Brussels, Belgium) gave a fascinating talk on post-modern techniques in science archives, introducing participants to a new term, ‘archivitalization’. The meeting concluded with a contribution from Anne Barrett of Imperial College on how archival material could illuminate the place of women in science at the College, which was not evident in the published record.
The meeting was superbly organised and run. As always, at least as valuable and enjoyable as the varied formal presentations were the opportunities to meet colleagues from so many different countries with such varied archival backgrounds, to discuss and compare projects and consider future activities. Participants were keen to have the chance to meet again and further ways of building on the international contacts already in place, as exemplified for Europe by the CASE Group, were discussed. The conference was also a fitting occasion to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists and a number of the institutions represented paid tribute to the contribution the Unit and its Director had made to encouraging their own projects and fostering good practice internationally.
Tim Powell