Thousands of historical records at the UK National Archives—books, maps, and documents—have become separated from their original collections, and archivists are now turning to the public to help bring them back. This matters because the current reunification process is slow and consumes scarce staff time. While archivists manage the collections, researchers often hold the specific subject knowledge needed to identify where a strayed record belongs. The project tests whether crowdsourcing—already used successfully for transcription at the National Archives—can solve this management problem at scale, without overwhelming staff or sacrificing accuracy. If the method works, it could transform how archives worldwide handle misplaced records. Instead of letting the backlog grow, institutions could engage users remotely, reuniting documents faster and at lower cost. This would directly improve historical research by preserving the integrity of collections, and it would strengthen connections between archives and the communities that use them. The project also aims to establish a sustainable, scalable model that other galleries, libraries, archives, and museums could adopt for similar management challenges.
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This innovative PhD project seeks to address the long-standing issue of strayed records in the UK National Archives (TNA) by leveraging crowdsourcing. Despite existing preventative measures, thousands of records—including books, maps, and documents—become separated from their original collections. These records often become separated due to mishandling or oversight. While archivists manage and catalogue records, researchers bring expert knowledge of specific subjects, which can help identify and reunite these separated records. The current reunification process is slow and resource-intensive, necessitating an innovative approach to prevent the backlog from growing. By engaging both archivists and archive users, the project seeks to develop a novel method to reunite strays in archival collections. The objective is to develop a sustainable method, minimising staff time and resources while keeping a good balance of accuracy and engagement with the public of the archive. The research addresses key questions: how can crowdsourcing effectively assist in reuniting strayed archival records? What other methodologies can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of this process? how can a sustainable, scalable model be developed for long-term impact? Maintaining record integrity is crucial for historical research. While crowdsourcing has been used in the Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) sector, this project is unique in applying it to a management problem. Given TNA’s successful crowdsourced transcription projects, this is an opportune moment to harness public expertise for reunification. This project will be of interest to many within heritage conservation and management, GLAM, digital heritage and digital humanities communities. This project will be of interest to diverse communities researching our past. This project is in line with TNA’s research vision and priorities. It cuts across two areas of expertise identified in the Research Vision: 1) Digital, Data and Emerging Technologies 2) Impact, Culture and Engagement. This project will use emerging technologies, i.e. the crowdsourcing platforms available due to the Internet, to solve one of the longstanding management challenges of archives. This project has the potential to establish TNA as a world-leading research organisation in crowdsourcing to solve management challenges. This project will use emerging technologies to empower archive users. One of the greatest benefits of crowdsourcing is users worldwide can interact with the collections without necessarily visiting TNA. This project will actively engage with volunteers to ensure that they feel valued and their contributions are recognised. This project will make a real-world impact. It will contribute to long-term goals of TNA. This research will offer an innovative, scalable solution to a persistent archival challenge faced by archives worldwide while strengthening connections between archives and their user communities. A new subfield of research within crowdsourcing in heritage will emerge from this project with involving users in solving longstanding management challenges in GLAM. The impact of this project will remain even after the project finishes. It will also impact thousands of archives in the UK and beyond. Long-term real-world impact will be achieved through expediting the process of reunification, saving time and resources and helping in preserving memories for the users of archives.
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