In message <19A73E304CFBD311A6A800508B670C0102F62782@ESNTS_EXCH01>,
Alison Bennett AAG SMRO ES <[log in to unmask]> writes
> Another example could be Greater London. Its creation took in a
> chunks of various counties, and the inhabitants of that part of
> Greater London which used to be Essex still identify with Essex.
> (What is your instinctive reaction if asked which county Ilford is
> in?)
Worse still, what county is Staines, Middx in? And then there's Milton
Keynes. Some people in Bletchley (in MK) will deny that they're in it,
while some people in Newport Pagnell (not in MK) will say that they are.
Perhaps what is needed is a 'historic county' - not tied to any date
but, merely recording that at some point in time Staines was in
Middlesex, Nottingham was in Nottinghamshire, etc.
Knowledge at 'county' level is often unsupported by a knowledge of a
precise date, and there is a mental lag in adopting the new political
terminology (Thus some people in Staines will still insist that they are
in Middlesex). So the finding system should not require the user to
know whether they are talking about 'ceremonial/1888/1974/today'
Nottinghamshire: all they know is that this object had a
'Nottinghamshire' find spot, this photograph was taken in
'Nottinghamshire', or that their ancestors came from 'Nottinghamshire'.
For this reason, some of my colleagues in the museums archives and
libraries sector are doubtful about allowing online access - they feel
without their expert mediation, the users will not be able to find the
right Nottinghamshire (or wherever).
Postal towns add another layer of complexity: I type this, according to
my postal address, in Hampshire - but this village never has been in
Hampshire: it's the Surrey side of the Blackwater. Someone, some day, is
going to look for something to do with here using the search term
'Hampshire'.
If this is how users think and behave (and I've only my experience to go
on - has any research been done?), then areas which need to be mapped
are of 'everywhere which could ever have been considered to have been
Nottinghamshire' (etc.). For each institution, this will be one of a
number of spatial definitions, almost certainly complimenting current
political boundaries, and a number of others - political,
ecclesiastical, imaginary - which they and their (non)users (will) find
useful. How one copes with things like people from Newport Pagnell
_saying_ that they come from Milton Keynes, I've no idea!
Best wishes to all,
Pat
(Surrey Museums Development Officer - supporting 40 museums in Surrey,
and the Museum of Spelthorne, Staines, which is in Surrey, and still in
Middlesex. Surrey County Hall is in the London Borough of Kingston ....
surreal!).
--
Pat Reynolds
[log in to unmask]
"It might look a bit messy now, but just you come back in 500 years time"
(T. Pratchett)
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