Edinburgh: City of Print

Screen shot of a page from the City of Print website detailing the history of Print Union Gala Days

Why is this case study relevant?

The Edinburgh: City of Print project is an excellent example of partnership working to create an accessible central resource of information. It’s also a good example of a multi-faceted project involving collections management, documentation and online access.

What were the aims of the project?

Edinburgh: City of Print aimed to provide online access to the print and publishing collections of the City of Edinburgh Museums. The project aimed to compile a photographic record and detailed description of the wealth of material held by the City of Edinburgh Museums and to highlight the rich heritage of Edinburgh’s printing industry. The project also endeavored to capture knowledge of traditional work practices and how machinery was used before it is lost as the industries in which they were common are swept away in the digital revolution. City of Print aimed to exploit the technology of that revolution to catalogue and provide a virtual display, including descriptions of working practices, of the City’s key collections in this area. These were made available through the project website at www.edinburghcityofprint.org. The overall aim of the KT catalyst scheme is to enhance collaboration between universities and other bodies and institutions.

What happened?

The project catalogued the printing collections of the City of Edinburgh Museums, organised storage arrangements within museum stores and made this information available to a wider audience online.

Added value was provided to the museum collections through research into how these items would have been used and the wider context of the printing industry in Scotland. The City of Print website provided information in the form of film, oral history extracts, images and texts detailing:
o The social context of what life was like working within the printing industry in Scotland.
o Information about individual printing firms
o Information about traditional work practices
o A timeline including important dates in Edinburgh’s printing history
o The role of print unions
o The social welfare role that paternalistic print employers played in the lives of their employees.

City of Print aimed to provide a hub for the history of printing in Edinburgh and to be the first point of call for those wishing information as to where printing collections, company records and relevant archives were held. To aid this endeavour the project made links with institutions that held printing collections to ensure that they had a presence on the site. The collecting policies of other heritage institutions were considered and redistribution of duplicate items from the City Museum’s collections to enhance the collections of NMS was also arranged. Contact was made with the Scottish Print Archival Trust (SPRAT), who was consulted with regard to adding value and context to the City’s printing collections. Collaboration with SPRAT included joint working the digitisation of printing company histories from the Edward Clark Collection. These histories will be hosted on the SPRAT website, but links will be made to this from the City of Print site. Retired printers have advised the project and offered information about many of the objects. Film and oral history extracts also appear on the website.

What was learned?

From the outset the main aim of the project was to provide accessibility to as wide an audience as possible. Edinburgh: City of Print aimed to make the collections of Edinburgh City Museums freely accessible to any potential users who were interested in the history of this important industry. It was decided that images should be available through Flickr with attached information and films should be made available through YouTube. This allowed users to access the collections from multiple access points; through the City of Print site, YouTube and Flickr.

The use of these Web 2.0 platforms meant that the site was interactive and allowed individuals to be able to comment on the site content and to add their own memories of work within the printing industry. It also meant that the site was accessible to an audience which would not traditionally visit a stand alone heritage site but which frequented these Web 2.0 sites. The successful collaboration should make future partnerships with other organisations more effective.

What is the wider relevance?

The project shows how a collaborative approach can achieve a rich and sustainable output. The use of social media sites to host collections information promotes the project to a wider online audience and reaches those outside the traditional museum audience. It also gives audiences a chance to interact with the content through comments and their own contributions.

How was this project promoted?

The project was promoted in a number of ways
o The City of Print website – a formal launch of the site is planned for November 2009. Librarians, museum curators, book historians and former printers will be invited to attend. This will highlight the existence of this resource.
o Through Web 2.0 sites such as Flickr and YouTube
o Presentations at academic conferences, which highlight the aims of the project to book and print historians
o Talks to local history and community groups in Edinburgh

What type of evaluation was done?

The website was evaluated through interviews with a cross section of individuals on the usability, relevance and accessibility of the site. Interviews were undertaken with former printers, book historians, students and members of the general public. Respondents were asked to comment on their experience of using the site. These responses were analysed and used to inform a re-design of various elements of the site to ensure that all aspects of the site are usable and easily found by the user.