2023 - November and December - page 35
Image details
| Issue number | 395 |
|---|---|
| ISSN | 2632-7171 |
| Publication date | 1st November 2023 |
| Transcription |
Back Chat magazine Volunteer and staff road trip! © Emily Mathias 2023 How have you tried to make the volunteers in this project feel welcome, supported and appreciated? We knew the volunteers would be working virtually; we did not want them to feel as if they were alone or that the volume of their work was underappreciated. The Volunteer Coordinator suggested a buddy scheme where they could work in pairs if they wished, and we also organised group meetings and 1-2-1s. When possible, we organised social and in-person events. For their first 100 transcriptions, we hosted a garden party where I baked 100 biscuits. I did not bake 1,000 biscuits when they reached this milestone (but I did make them a silly meme inspired by a Proclaimers’ song)! During the practical stages, for work submission, we created an MS Team with various channels where they could also post questions. One volunteer also suggested a channel which linked to podcasts and audiobooks relating to modernist authors. Some re-read Virginia Woolf or read her for the first time. I usually don't see what people discover when I am digitising and uploading into a website. This project reinforced the positive impact of archives, even with small virtual communities of people. I would not have experienced this using OCR or HTR methods on my own. Overall, the remote nature of the transcription work ensured that those who couldn't travel to the archive found that it accommodated their other commitments; with no geographical boundaries, the digital nature meant people could drop in and out as they pleased. Two of the volunteers eventually joined the team at UoR and this felt like another significant impact. Celebrating the volunteers' 1st 100 transcriptions 2022 © University of Reading, MERL and Special Collections MAPP also submitted abstracts to conferences so we could celebrate their work with wider audiences; we were accepted to talk at the recent ARA conference in Belfast. As the project ended, we organised a road trip to Charleston House which was the home of Virginia Woolf's sister. Some volunteers had transcribed letters from this location, so we endeavoured to thank them for their time and efforts in enjoyable ways. What positives have you found as project archivist in working with a team of volunteers remotely? The levels of engagement. I loved finding out what each of them enjoyed, which we would talk about together. 35 |