Jen Evans at Crowd Cymru tells us how their digital archive project lets volunteers all over the world delve into Wales’ rich history.
Crowd Cymru is a digital volunteering project which harnesses the exceptional knowledge of individuals across Wales – and beyond – to help improve the information about our digital archive collections.
EXPLORING WALES’ HISTORY
Our volunteers are from all over the world and they participate online via a bilingual, digital, crowdsourcing platform established by the National Library of Wales. This platform enables remote volunteers to work on digital collections.
Archive services across Wales hold millions of irreplaceable records, but many are only minimally catalogued and difficult to identify and find. Our project harnesses the knowledge of people across Wales and beyond to enrich our collective heritage for the benefit of current and future generations – locally, nationally, and globally.
Digital skills and digital inclusion are key Welsh Government priorities, and we are helping people make the best use of digital technologies and develop their skills in seeking opportunities in the workplace and for wellbeing.
DEVELOPING DIGITAL SKILLS
We are also improving opportunities for archives services to develop new models for remote volunteering, without the need to travel, that support the Welsh Government’s ambition to reduce our carbon footprint.
One of the first collections our volunteers worked on was transcribing poignant diary entries of WWI poet, Edward Thomas. This collection came from Cardiff University Special Collections and Archives and proved very popular.
Edward Thomas Archive (Cardiff University Special Collections & Archives)
One of our volunteers even centred her final project for her MA in Fine Art around an exploration of archive and memory, which was based on Edward Thomas and his wife, Helen.
RICH HISTORY
Volunteers have also been transcribing a collection of archival documents belonging to the 19th century Rolls family from Abergavenny. One of the more interesting collections in this archive is a series of holiday diaries written by Georgiana Marcia Rolls, whose youngest son, Charles Stuart, went on to become a co-founder of Rolls-Royce.
Georgiana Marcia Maclean diary, 1886, Rolls Family Archive (Gwent Archives)
Her enchanting diaries are a combination of written text and ink sketches illustrating perfectly the leisure time of a cosseted affluent family.
As well as transcribing, our volunteers are also working on tagging and describing photographic collections. They are currently working on an early 20th century collection of images of Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan held at Glamorgan Archives.
Merthyr Mawr Lodge in Winter by Edwin Miles (Glamorgan Archives)
They are doing the same with a large photographic collection charting the history of Cardiff University, a fascinating visual memory of students and staff going back to 1883.
Optometry class circa 1970 Cardiff University Institutional Archive
(Cardiff University Special Collections & Archives)
INVESTING IN THE PAST AND FUTURE
It’s taken some time to build our group of volunteers and we work hard at keeping them invested. We know from feedback that they find this type of work very rewarding and they benefit from supporting the works of archives in Wales, sharing common interests and working alongside like-minded people.
They also enjoy access to training and improved IT literacy skills. Access to historic images and documents is also of benefit along with valuable, practical experience working with digital archives.
For registered volunteers, we provide one-to-one training, online social events and a closed Facebook Group. We also have an active X account to promote progress, highlight collections and foster support for other archive, library, museums, and heritage accounts.
FIND OUT MORE
Established in 2022, Crowd Cymru is a digital archives volunteer project funded by the Welsh Government and run jointly by the following partner organisations: Cardiff University Special Collections & Archives, Carmarthenshire Archives, Conwy Archives, Glamorgan Archives, Gwent Archives, Swansea University Libraries & Archives and University of Wales Trinity St Davids Special Collections & Archives.
Read more about our activities over the last three years, including presentations, articles and podcasts, via our project page.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Do you think you might be interested in joining Crowd Cymru?
If so please make contact, we’re happy to come and speak to groups and/or organise workshops, in person if possible or online. Our current phase of funding is coming to an end on 31 March 2025 so don’t delay!
Email: jennifer.evans@gwentarchives.gov.uk
Phone: 01495 742450