• 'The public libraries of London' collection: oral history in the digital age

    Author(s):
    Mariana Strassacapa Ou (see profile)
    Date:
    2018
    Group(s):
    CityLIS
    Subject(s):
    Libraries, History, Library education, Archives--Study and teaching, Metadata, Oral history, Library science, Public libraries, England--London, Culture
    Item Type:
    Dissertation
    Institution:
    City, University of London
    Tag(s):
    digital archive, Library history, Library and Archival Studies, Digital archives, Librarianship, London, Cultural history
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6KK3D
    Abstract:
    Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MSc in Library Science, City, University of London, September 2017. This piece of research presents the process and outcomes of building ‘The Public Libraries of London’ collection of interviews with current and former staff members of a few public libraries of London. The purpose of such endeavor was to address two main topics of interest: library history and research, by creating a collection of materials that can be useful as resource for future investigation; and digital archives, by housing the collection in the Layers of London website. An analysis of the literature provided insights into the format and contents of existing documents of people’s experiences of the public library. The methods used to build this collection of narratives about the public library involved: opting for the face-to-face, audio recorded interview as means to document; narrowing down the potential interviewees to public library staff members (rather than interviewing users as well); creating an open, varied, unspecific interview schedule; and housing the collection in the Layers of London website. Up until the point of conclusion of this dissertation, eight interviews had been conducted. The resulting collection was analyzed as resource for library history and research, and as a digital archive in the Layers of London website. It was understood that creating documents about the public library by interviewing public library staff members resulted in rich, unique narratives that can prove themselves useful for research beyond library history. Additionally, it was concluded that even though Layers of London is a highly accessible digital archive that serves ‘The Public Libraries of London’ well, online archiving of oral history collections still pose many challenges to be overcome.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
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