Further war diary digitisation - volunteers sought

[David_Underdown]

Continuing The National Archives' contribution to the centenary commemorations, digitisation of further tranches of the war diaries is now being planned. Once again volunteers are being sought to assist in sorting the diaries prior to digitisation being carried out. The minimum time commitment is one day per fortnight at Kew. Further information at http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/934.htm

It is also worth noting that the project will lead to some diaries being out of circulation, see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/first-world-war/centenary-unit-war-diaries.htm

Some diaries unavailable in the reading rooms

This digitisation project means that diaries from the following piece ranges will be unavailable in the reading rooms for a short period of time in the next few months:

• WO 95/1 to WO 95/571 (inclusive)
• WO 95/3949 to WO 95/4193 (inclusive)
• WO 95/5500

We will try to minimise the amount of time that diaries are unavailable for and will publish a more detailed schedule online soon, including the dates of document availability

(I've been away, so apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, I've tried searching and didn't track down any mentions).

[Phil Wood]

Great news - when they implied after the last tranche that they had 'finished' I feared that it would be years before they got round to really finishing the job.

I could volunteer, but can't really get to Kew at the start of the day - could do an afternoon a week or somesuch, would this work?

[Tom Lang]

David,

I'm having a hard time with this - TNA want free labour and will charge those 'volunteers' (and anyone else) £3.30 for each diary (or part thereof) that they help to digitise.

TNA website (http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/who-we-are.htm) states: "The National Archives is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice and a government department in its own right.".

So is "... a government department... " recruiting free labour?

I hope you can understand my 'difficulty' with this.

Kindest Regards,

Tom.

[David_Underdown]

Phil, I don't think the day necessarily has to be a whole day at a time (if you see what I mean) - I will check next week.

Tom, I think the best thing I can do is to point you towards the general volunteering pages, which explain why volunteers are used (and what's in it for them) http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/get-involved/volunteering-info.htm.

Edited 7 June , 2014 by David Underdown

[Phil Wood]

Tom - one advantage volunteers will have is being at Kew - where digitised records can be downloaded for free.

[E Wilcock]

I too think volunteers should get the downloads without charge. Paying travel for people many of whom are retired and use bus passes is meaningless. There is after all a minimum wage.

[Phil Wood]

Volunteers can get the downloads free of charge - as can anyone using the WiFi at Kew.

[HeatherC]

I think some of you have missed the point of the word "volunteer"? People do this becasue they enjoy it or get something out of it personally, not becasue they want a reward. Same for Operation War Diary. I have given a lot of time up to that project and continue to do so- it's been fun and I certainly don't expect to be paid. If I couldn't afford to spend the time I wouldn;t do it! And if I lived in London I'd come to Kew and volunteer for this one too.

[E Wilcock]

The question of volunteering and for what sort of enterprise or charity people volunteer in the "Big Society" goes wider than this Heather. Especially when volunteers are doing work that might be otherwise be done by qualified state employees in museums, and schools.

I volunteered to put my grandfather's papers on line, when requested to do so. And some very busy people on this Forum gave me of their precious time, helping me free of charge.

This Forum therefore is an excellent centre of volunteering time, help and information.

[Phil Wood]

There are two issues with volunteering - the first is whether the volunteers are being taken advantage of - which is, essentially down to the volunteer to decide on.

The second issue is whether volunteers are being used in a way that denies someone a job. This latter issue is always problemmatic - especially if you look at a project from a wider view. For instance, if volunteers don't turn up to sort the diaries will the project collapse and the professionals employed to do the digitisation and organise the online access be out of a job? Would the loss of the additional revenue from online sales cost another archivist their job down the line? Like it or not public bodies are having to work with reduced budgets - so even existing jobs are hard to keep.

I love the PRO, it's a place worth treasuring; if I can help by giving a week or twos effort spread over the coming months and in some small way help them maintain or improve the high level of service already on offer, then I would see it as time well spent.

[John_Hartley]

This is the common issue when volunteers are used - particularly when it's a public sector organisation. I'm a volunteer at our local hospital - one of about 300 who give their time during a week.

Could our work be done by a paid employee? Yes, in most cases.

If we didnt exist, would the hospital choose to emply someone? Most doubtful.