Research & Archives
Search Engine
Background to the Project
It’s been almost ten years since the idea for Search Engine was first mooted. Since then, the NRM has led the way in challenging the perception that museums all have reserve collections locked away, and of no practical use to the public. In 1999 The Works opened up our small object collections to the public, and in 2004 Locomotion did the same for our vehicle collections.
Search Engine is the next step in this process. In December 2007 our library and archive collections will, for the first time, be visible and accessible in the main public spaces of the museum.
Our Archives and Library
Behind the scenes at the NRM lies a vast railway archive and library, holding all the NRM’s accumulated knowledge about the history of the railway.
The collections are huge:
- Over 1.5 million photographs from the early days of photography in the 1850s to the present day;
- Over a million engineering drawings of railway vehicles from 1820 to the present;
- The UK's most comprehensive railway library;
- Sound and oral history archives;
- A growing digital video record of today’s railway industry;
- Personal and business archives from key figures and organisations in the British railway industry;
- The UK's most comprehensive collection of British railway posters, graphic art and advertising material from the 1820s onward;
- The NRM’s own archives, including archives from our predecessor museums at York and Clapham.
In total it weighs over 180 tonnes - that's 22 tonnes heavier than Flying Scotsman!
It is also largely hidden away. Very few visitors to the NRM have any idea it exists at all.
What do we want to do about it?
Search Engine will transform the way the NRM cares for these huge hidden collections and change the way that we open them up for hands-on public access.
Using the NRM’s Great Hall Balcony, we are creating a large informal Information Centre where many more people can drop-in as part of their normal visit to the NRM to have their questions answered.
We’ll use this space to put on displays and events about the 'hidden archives' for museum visitors, and pre-booked groups from schools, clubs and associations, and as the starting point for tours of the archive vaults behind the scenes.
In addition to the drop-in facilities, Search Engine will include an air-conditioned archives reading room for in-depth researchers. There will also be facilities for collaborative working where groups from schools, clubs or societies can access the collections and discuss their research with each other.
To support this new public space, are investing in our archive stores to increase their capacity and to ensure that the collections will survive in good condition for years to come.
Why are you doing this - why not just put it all online?
As a National Museum we are committed to preserving the 'real thing'. We think that it is very important that all our users are able to get hands-on access to original archives and library material - not just electronic substitutes.
Cataloguing and digitising the archives is beyond the scope of this current project. However, once Search Engine opens we are planning to systematically digitise the archive collections – subject to further fundraising.
The sheer size of the collections means that putting digital copies online can only scratch the surface of making the archive accessible in the short term. Proper planning is important if we are not to waste time and money If we could scan and catalogue one archive item every ten minutes, then it would take us over 240 working years to digitise the engineering drawing and photographic archives alone!
We will also develop our online access to the collections. The catalogues, guides and finding aids that users will need for their research are a priority for adding to our website so that everyone can see what is in the archive and plan their visit accordingly.
The opening of Search Engine in December 2007 is just the beginning of the enhanced experience you can look forward to in the years to come.
