Blog
Advice and expertise from AM, and special guest posts by leading archivists, academics and librarians from around the world.
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Observing life in a decade of changeDiscover how the Mass Observation Project evolved through the 2010s. Explore societal trends, from climate change to digital shifts, revealed through module IV. Read how researchers and the public document everyday life in a changing world.
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The future of British Weihaiwei: A look at Foreign Office, Consulate and Legation Files, China, section II: The End of Empire, 1896-1911This blog spotlights Foreign Office, Consulate and Legation Files, China: Section II's material which documents China's relations with Britain, and key events such as the beginning of the Xinhai Revolution that ended centuries of imperial rule. It features correspondence between London and British diplomats stationed in Weihaiwei, the first foreign concession in China.
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Christmas pantomime on the nineteenth-century stageThe Christmas pantomime feels like a timeless festive tradition, full of laughter, spectacle and audience participation. This blog explores how pantomime took shape on the nineteenth-century stage and why it flourished.
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Meet the AM team broadening access to primary sourcesAccessibility is central to AM’s mission of expanding access to primary sources. In this blog, UX Designer Elena Panarese shares how inclusive design and collaboration support this goal.
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Forging “new links between the America and the Africa of today and tomorrow.”Seventy years on from publication of the first issue, Emily Stafford, AM Editor, explores how the American Committee on Africa’s newsletter, Africa Today, served the committee’s aim of informing the American public about African affairs and built on the collective power of small individual actions to effect change.
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'[N]othing we can add… that has not been presented already:' Los Angeles' bid for the 1956 Summer OlympicsAs Los Angeles prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games, Matt Brand, Editor, delves into the city’s 1956 bid, revealing surprising twists and turns through promotional material and behind-the-scenes correspondence featured in The Olympic Movement: Sport, Global Politics, and Identity.
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Impressions of Budapest in 1944: Diaries of German OccupationEighty years on from the occupation of Hungary by German troops during the Second World War, one woman’s diaries offer a personal perspective on a globally significant event. This blog explores the accounts of Scottish journalist Margaret Mackenzie Scott as she navigates her new reality under German occupation far from her homeland.
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Electric dreams and excess in the 1980sStep 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.
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What to ask about digital collections migration supportWhatever 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.
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Celebrating milestones and anniversaries with digital exhibitsHarris 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.
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Implementing AM Quartex to drive a digital shiftIn 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.
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From "potted sunshine" to animated diagrams: Topical Budget and the filming of British NewsreelsComprising 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.
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Colonial Violence in the Caribbean: The Morant Bay Rebellion and the Royal Commission of InquiryThe 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion marked a tragic episode in the Caribbean's history of colonial violence. Examine the brutal response by Governor Eyre and colonial authorities, which led to indiscriminate violence and death, and the subsequent Royal Commission of Inquiry.
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Making it personal: the power of digital archives to foster our sense of belongingWhat 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.
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Embedding accessibility into digital collections: Putting theory into practiceIn 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.
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Embedding accessibility into digital collections: Why accessibility mattersIn 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.
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One DAMS, multiple applications: maximising return on investment in the context of digital collectionsThe 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.
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Envisioning “The Fabulous Future” of mass communications through David Sarnoff’s speechesAM 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.
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The Berlin Conference and the New Imperialism in AfricaEleanor 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.
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Why access to archives mattersLike 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.
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Five ways Quartex promotes effective and efficient workingWe 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.
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If a woman smiles, her dress must also smile: 1930s fashion in Interwar CultureEleanor 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.
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Christmas at sea: Grog, ghosts and good old carolsDive into Life at Sea for a fantastic insight into Christmas aboard ships during the Age of Sail, from the relationships of crew members to their leisure activities and general morale aboard ship.
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100 Years of the BBC in the Mass Observation ProjectEditorial 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.