By Camille Moret, University Archivist.

LUA is actively engaging with this year’s International Archive Week theme #ArchivesAreAccessible: Archives for Everyone. 

We have been conducting activities to further access to our collections for our users and beyond, as well as taking a step back to reflect on the nature of HE archives, and what it means in terms of both access and accessibility. Today, we are showcasing our work to provide digital surrogates to yet another collection of historical artefacts. 

Loughborough University holds a collection of more than 100 stain glass panels, scattered around a campus that is essentially private land. With the long-standing history of Handicrafts education, the Arts & Craft Movement, and of Loughborough as a traditional cradle of Making, it seemed a shame to withhold access not only to our communities but also the general public.  

We did a photographic survey of the entire collection, including those panels that were still in storage or that had been walled up, and used online platform AtoM (Artefactual) as both a cataloguing tool and a virtual visit space. History students from Aston University in Birmingham have been engaging with the collection to provide some interpretation, learn about research and heraldry, which showcases another way of enhancing accessibility, and a form of collaborative cataloguing ubiquitous with access.  

Inspired by the arches at DMU heritage centre, we might consider expanding in this area with virtual reality, to allow visitors to have a more authentic experience of our stain glass collection.