Blog

Step into the vibrant tapestry of the 1980s, where anti-nuclear protests, political upheavals, and iconic figures like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan mingled with the neon glow of shoulder pads, arcade games, and synthesizers. Amy Hubbard, editor explores materials from AM's 1980s Culture and Society, a rich exploration of this era's excesses, innovations, and contradictions, covering topics from Conservatism's rise to the explosion of electronic music. Discover how technology transformed not just leisure but also communication, creativity, and societal landscapes, leaving an indelible mark on the decade's cultural fabric.

Amnesty International Archives features hundreds of thousands of images, including every Urgent Action issued between 1974-1991 detailing requests for action to intercede in humanitarian crises and protest atrocities around the world. The campaigns, internal developments and press perceptions of Amnesty are all explored in detail through the documents that are featured in the resource.

Women’s Voices and Life Writing, 1600-1968 offers access to everyday experiences and social worlds, whilst encouraging us to engage with women’s own understandings of the contexts in which they lived. Claire Langhamer, Director of the Institute of Historical Research and Professor of Modern History, University of London, discusses the topic of romantic love using resources from within the collection.

Whatever your drivers for change, the migration of your digital collections requires planning, resources, strategic buy-in and, not least, the support services of your chosen vendor. Given how important these migration support services can be, it’s crucial to ask some fundamental questions to, as far as possible, guarantee a smooth experience.

Harris County Public Library celebrated its centenary with over two dozen digital exhibits that chart its history from the first library stations to becoming America’s tenth largest public library system. CJ Williams, Technical Services Manager, reflects on her experience of creating exhibits using AM Quartex and offers advice for establishing efficient exhibit workflows.

In the first of a new blog series, Joanne Fitton, Deputy Director of Libraries, Museums and Galleries at the University of Liverpool, charts the journey so far in effecting digital change across the institution's heritage services.

Comprising over six thousand films, British Newsreels, 1911-1930: Culture and Society on Film represents the vast majority of surviving Topical Budget newsreels, now digitised and presented together for the first time. Jade Bailey, Assistant Editor, AM looks at a number of the black and white, silent newsreels which focus on the process of filmmaking itself and new techniques of the time which are interspersed throughout the collection.

Beth Abbott, Editor, delves into reports, evidence and correspondence from another brutal chapter in the history of colonial violence in Jamaica in the third and final module of Colonial Caribbean . The Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865, marked a tragic episode in the Caribbean's history of colonial violence and this blog looks at the brutal response by Governor Eyre and colonial authorities, which led to indiscriminate violence and death and the subsequent Royal Commission of Inquiry.

What would it mean to see yourself or your own lived experience within a digital archive? In his first blog for AM, Jameson Worley uses his personal experience to answer these questions. And he explores the ways in which digital archives have fostered his own sense of community belonging.

Alex Barr, Assistant Editor looks at the reports, telegrams and correspondence in AM's newest module, documenting the events and aftermath of the attach on the British Embassy in March 1964.

Having launched your digital collections, how will you build engagement and develop a sense of community? Learn from three institutions that are successfully using Quartex to strengthen engagement with their user communities.

From open communication to honesty and pragmatism, library and archive practitioners from Syracuse University Libraries, Towson University Special Collections and University Archives, and AM, share their advice for those considering how to embed accessibility into digital collections.

AM Editor, Matthew Brand takes a look at some of the RSC prompt books in our our newest Shakespeare collection, pulling out the visually stunning 1986 ‘Yuppie’ production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Michael Bogdanov and starring Sean Bean and Niamh Cusack.

In part 1 of her blog, Helen Duriez, Head of Product at AM, considered why accessibility matters and to whom. In part 2, discover examples of institutions using our technology to serve their audiences as well as how we consider accessibility in the context of our own primary source collections.

In the first of a two-part blog, Helen Duriez, Head of Product at AM, considers what accessibility means to us as a digital publisher and creator of Quartex, and reveals how we hold ourselves to account when it comes to meeting our customers' requirements.

The myriad benefits of serving multiple audiences with separate digital collections sites, all managed from one flexible, powerful and efficient DAMS, are being realised by libraries and archives across the US and around the world. Learn from the examples set by San Francisco State University, Harris County Public Library and Harris County Archives, and Syracuse University.

AM Senior Editor, Sophie Heath looks at our newest module, highlighting some of David Sarnoff's speeches and articles sharing his visions for the broadcasting industry, now digitised from the David Sarnoff Papers held at Hagley Museum and Library as part of our Broadcasting America: The Rise of Mass Media and Communications.

Eleanor Masters, Editorial Assistant at AM dives into our newest module Africa and the New Imperialism looking at the significance of the Berlin Conference from 1888-1885.

Like many members of the AM team, Ana Attrill-Klein, who recently joined our Customer Experience team, has a background working in libraries and archives. In this blog, Ana shares how these experiences have strengthened her belief in archival materials being accessible to all.

We designed AM Quartex with ease of use and efficient working practices front of mind. In a recent webinar, we explored some of the key processes in Quartex that ease digital asset management; here are five of them.

Eleanor Cambridge, Assistant Editor at AM explores the newest module for Interwar Culture, focusing on two fashion designers from the period, who have been largely forgotten.

Courtney Priday, Assistant Editor at AM, dives into our brand new Life at Sea collection to find out how Christmas would have been spent aboard ships during the Age of Sail. These documents provide fantastic insight into the relationships of crew members, their leisure activities and general morale aboard ship.

Editorial Assistant Stewart Pospischil takes a look back through Mass Observation Project and the 2004 Spring directive giving us an insight into what the British public really thought about the BBC. 

Natalie Dale, editor at AM, alongside other members of the editorial team share their personal highlights of canines featured in some of our collections such as Interwar Culture and Mass Observation Project.