Contribute

You can add as much or as little information about your collection as you choose.

This can range from an umbrella description of your collections to details of each item you hold, and everything in between.

There are three ways to add your catalogues:

1. Exporting descriptions in an EAD XML file from catalogue systems such as CALM, AdLib and many others.
2. Allowing harvest of catalogue information through a URL endpoint from systems such as ArchivesSpace, AtoM and Epexio.
3. Providing summary descriptions or full catalogue descriptions in a spreadsheet for upload by the Archives Hub team. Using a spreadsheet can also be an effective way to export data from cataloguing systems such as e-Hive or Community Chest, or from a general database software such as a Microsoft Access database or MySQL.

Detailed information on exporting and adding catalogues for the collections you hold may be found on our guide to adding your collection.

We have over 100 archives across Scotland participating in Your Scottish Archives, with over 40 already adding catalogue descriptions. This includes collection level descriptions, right down to item level descriptions.

New archive holders continue to join the portal, and current contributors are still adding further collection catalogues. This means the archives and collections shown on Your Scottish Archives will keep growing in the future.

Here is a list of our current contributors.

Joining your Scottish Archives

Community Archives, Heritage Groups and other volunteer-led organisations are welcome to participate in Your Scottish Archives.

We recognise that the needs, priorities and capacity of community groups are different to those of larger organisations, that you may not have professional training in archives or collections, and may rely on dedicated volunteers to run your group.

To take part, your group should:

1. Look after a collection that includes original archival material; your collection may not consist exclusively of copies, transcriptions or scans of material, as these are not considered to be the original records.
2. Be based in Scotland – but your collection can relate to any topic or area at all
3. Be able to make your collection available to researchers on a consistent basis, in a way that is safe for your group and minimises risk of damage to your collection.

We are happy to speak with you about joining Your Scottish Archives, provide training, and support you in preparing a catalogue of your collection.

You can contact us at: your@scottisharchives.org.uk

Important considerations

Adding your catalogue to Your Scottish Archives will help to share your collections with a wider audience, and connect your archives with researchers interested in using them.

It is import to think about the ways in which sharing your collection with more people outside your group or society may have an impact.

A: Personal safety for your group and for researchers

• Is there a good way to contact your group, which can be shared with the public, such as a non-personal email address or website?
• Do you have a safe, public place where you can allow researchers to see your material? This may be a shared local space, such as a village hall or library, with the agreement of the property mangers.

B: Collection care

• Do you have a system for finding items in your collections and consistently returning them to the same place, such as a catalogue and locations guide? It may be helpful for you to look at our cataloguing guidance.
• Are there items in your collection may benefit from protection or support when being used, for example a book rest?
• Consider whether there are items in your collection that may be too fragile to share, and how you might assess this.
• Consider whether there may be items in your collection which could include hazardous or toxic substances and must only be shared with caution, such as WW2 gas masks.

C: Rights and legislation

• Copyright – If you intend to share items with researchers digitally through scans or photos, do you have the right to make copies/scans of your original material?
• Data Protection – Does your collection contain sensitive personal information; have you considered how you will protect this when sharing your collection with the public?

Have a look at the SCA Scottish Community Archives Toolkit for more information: Scottish Community Archives Toolkit – Scottish Council on Archives (scottisharchives.org.uk)

Creating a catalogue or adapting your current catalogue

An archival catalogue is a list of material in your archive, a summary of a collection, or a description of the items you hold.  The catalogue helps the archives service to keep track of their material and also helps researchers identify items that may wish to see.

A catalogue includes information such as:

• the date when items were made, a description of what the item is, or a who made an item.
• information that helps both archive keepers and researchers find and use these archives, such as a unique reference code and a title.

To be able to share your collections on Your Scottish Archives, you will need catalogues of your archival collections which are compatible with the Your Scottish Archives system. This means:

1. Your catalogue must include certain required types of information about your collection
2. Your catalogue for each collection must include a top level record – a summary of the whole collection – and may include descriptions of sections or individual items after this.
3. Your catalogue should be: (a) created on a spreadsheet which you will upload to the Your Scottish Archives partner organisation Archives Hub OR (b) may be exported out of your current catalogue software.

If you already have lists or catalogues for your collection, you may be able to adapt these to add your collection. Necessary adaptations can include adding information, changing the names of columns in your spreadsheet, or changing your document format such as turning a table in a Word document into a spreadsheet.

For collections which do not yet have any catalogue, you will need to create one! This can be a daunting process, but it is possible to complete this process step by step, over time.

Take a look at our beginner’s guide to starting a catalogue.