Colleagues may be interested in this new resource.

Simon Fowler
----- Original Message -----
From: "Natalie Adams" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 9:09 AM
Subject: Janus: a new Internet resource set to revolutionise access to Uni
versity and College archives in Cambridge


> > The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest educational
> > establishments in the world, in a city itself steeped in history and
> > tradition. The University and its colleges hold the 'raw material' of
> > history in their archive and manuscript collections. The collections
> > illuminate an enormous variety of subjects (education and College life,
> > social organisation, religion, gender, charitable giving and land
holding
> > and developments in the wider world of British culture, the arts and
> > sciences) and attract researchers from within the University and all
over
> > the world. Now, thanks to a collaborative project between University and
> > College archivists, that archival history has become a great deal easier
> > to find.
> >
> > On October 11th Janus was formally launched. Janus is a webserver
holding
> > catalogues (or descriptions) of archives and manuscripts held in and
> > around Cambridge. For the first time, there is a single unified point of
> > access (http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/) to these catalogues and the ability
> > to search them at the touch of a button.
> >
> > The catalogues on Janus currently span a wide range of dates, describing
> > records dating back to 1135 and as recent as the year 2001. The site is
> > still in its early stages but already includes an impressive wealth of
> > information. The University's own archives shed light on Cambridge as a
> > centre of academic excellence; represented for instance in the archives
of
> > the Cambridge Observatories dating from 1818-1999. Alongside operational
> > records relating to buildings, finances, observations and instruments,
the
> > records include the personal papers of George Biddell Airy (who went on
to
> > become Queen Victoria's Astronomer Royal) and a body of correspondence
> > featuring James Challis' observations of Neptune before its official
> > discovery in Berlin in 1846. The personal papers of Anna Bidder and
> > Margaret Braithwaite (the first President and Vice-president of Lucy
> > Cavendish Collegiate Society) reveal something of how this experimental
> > educational establishment for women was founded in the 1960's.
> >
> > There are also catalogues describing the papers of some of the most
> > significant public figures of the twentieth century. Political life and
> > government policy are documented by the papers of Britain's first female
> > Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, and those of Enoch Powell and Richard
> > "RAB" Butler (collections held at Churchill Archives Centre and at
Trinity
> > College). Intellectual advances are represented by the papers of Ludwig
> > Wittgenstein, the most influential figure in twentieth century western
> > philosophy, whose papers are held at Trinity College. There are Second
> > World War collections from Churchill Archives Centre including
> > hand-written notes of Winston Churchill's wartime Cabinet meetings from
> > the papers of Lawrence Burgis, and first-hand recollections of working
> > with Churchill from Private Secretaries "Jock" Colville and John Martin
> > and secretary Jo Sturdee.
> >
> > In providing 24 hour on-line access to catalogues, Janus will facilitate
> > considerable savings in time and money for historians and researchers
who
> > can now identify key resources before visiting Cambridge. The catalogues
> > on Janus are consistent with one another as they use the latest
> > professional standards for archival description, ensuring that the data
is
> > inter-operable and fully searchable. Janus includes additional
> > information, such as bibliographies and glossaries of terms, essential
> > tools to help researchers navigate the vocabulary peculiar to the
> > Cambridge setting. Through this means, Janus provides wider and
> > better-informed access to the archives. It will help University and
> > College archives offer better services to their users, reach a wider
> > potential audience and hopefully in time also attract entirely new user
> > groups. Peter Fox, University Librarian, said "The University Library is
> > delighted to host the Janus website. It's a wonderful resource for the
> > research community in Cambridge and beyond and lays important
foundations
> > for closer co-operation between the University and its constituent
> > colleges."
> >
> > Through the establishment of an additional archival gateway, using
> > standards to facilitate the future exchange and integration of
> > information, Janus is an exciting new addition to the emerging National
> > Archives Network. All descriptions on Janus are created using the latest
> > version of the cataloguing standard ISAD(G), which is the General
> > International Standard Archival Description, 2nd edition, September
2000.
> > They are stored in Encoded Archival Description (EAD, a standard for
> > encoding archival finding aids. Additional standards used for the
> > construction of catalogue entries and access points include: NCA Rules
> > (1997) - National Council on Archives rules for the construction of
> > personal, family and place names; the UNESCO thesaurus; the Getty
> > geographical thesaurus
> > (<http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/>). For archivists
> > contributing catalogues to Janus, the site also includes assistance with
> > data creation (an online form to create catalogues in EAD form and a
> > Microsoft Access cataloguing database which can export catalogues in EAD
> > format).
> >
> > The site was named "Janus" after the god of gates and doors in Roman
> > mythology. The god Janus has a distinctive appearance in art and is
often
> > depicted with two faces. Some sources claim that the reason Janus was
> > represented in this way was a reflection of the concept that doors and
> > gates look in two directions. In this way, one of the god's faces could
> > look forward, while the other looked backward. By embracing new
> > technology, Janus looks forwards, while the content of the site looks
> > back. The twin faces of Janus are a characteristic also of the public
and
> > private sides of the site: the public provides researchers with a view
of
> > published catalogues, the private allows archivists to create, validate
> > and upload files and proof their display before release. The site's logo
> > is based on a Roman coin (dated to the early second century BC) held by
> > the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.
> >
> > Developing Janus has been a collaborative project between Natalie Adams
> > (Churchill Archives Centre), Ellie Clewlow (Gonville and Caius College),
> > Jacky Cox (University Archives), Karen Davies (Lucy Cavendish College),
> > Martin Oldfield (Technical Consultant) and Jonathan Smith (Trinity
> > College). It has been funded by contributions from participating
> > institutions: the University's Fingland Fund, Churchill College, Downing
> > College, Gonville and Caius College, King's College, Lucy Cavendish
> > College, Queens' College, St. John's College, Selwyn College, and
Trinity
> > College, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the University of Cambridge Local
> > Examinations Syndicate.
> >
> > For further information, please visit the Janus site at
> > http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk or contact the developers by e-mailing
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > Natalie Adams
> > Archivist/ Information Services Manager
> > Churchill Archives Centre
> > Churchill College
> > Cambridge
> > CB3 0DS
> > Telephone (01223) 336222
> > Fax (01223) 336135
> > Website http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/archives/
> >
>