Digitising at York

We had a little trip to York last week. Lovely though the city is however, our adventure did not take in the sights of the Cathedral, a trip through the Yorvik Centre or a walk around the city walls. Instead it took us to York University, and more specifically to the Borthwick Archives, in order to deposit a number of our precious books.

One of the History Books ready for digitisation

The Borthwick has now in its possession ten books out of the Together Trust’s Archive collection. These largely consist of the early admission books of the Refuge, Orphan Homes on George Street and the Girls Home on Broughton Lane. At present these books are held offsite at Manchester Archives making them difficult to access. After 1886 case files of all the young people cared for by the charity were created, but between 1870 -1885 information about the children can only be found in the admission books. The digitisation of these early books allows for more of these children’s stories to be told. Some of these books also contain photographs of the children on admission to the Homes, which will allow lucky genealogists to gain a treasured picture of their ancestor. This is a service which the charity is unable to provide at present.

Orphan Homes’ Book- case history

Most importantly the digitisation of this material will help preserve the books for many more years to come. Handling of any book produces wear and tear, especially on the binding. The more pages are exposed to light, the greater the fading of ink and any photographic imagery attached to the paper. Oil’s contained on the skin’s surface can also affect the chemical balance of the paper and cause degrading. Of course the materials of these books will deteriorate over time no matter what we do. Digitising these volumes however, will allow much greater access to information whilst ensuring originals are not touched, preserving them better for the future.