Hello everybody, I’m just in the middle of my sixth week at The Mills Archive now!
I have already reached the halfway point in my internship and it feels like the time has just slipped away. I am still learning so much every day, and the more comfortable I get with my roles here, the more interesting the job becomes.
Last week carried another new exciting development with AtoM. I was able to link all the entries on the catalogue with access points like the mill name, the counties, and even specify certain search fields depending on the article. It gave me a new appreciation for my work, because I realized that future users of the catalogue would be depending on what I have done to look for whatever information they needed. When I first interviewed for this position, I remember being told that the decisions I would make would influence how easy or difficult it would be for people to find information, and although I always kept that in mind when working, I can now fully appreciate the value of a service like AtoM, and the importance of organised cataloguing.
In my previous blog I briefly mentioned my sympathy for researchers of the past, before the age of Google, in reference to Rowner Mill. However, this week, I was thanking all the powers that be for the technological development that has made research so much easier. In my task of tagging articles, I had to do a lot of fact checking as some mills are known by more than one name, or have been moved, or are no longer standing. Without a powerful search engine, I imagine it would take hours for one to look up and confirm information what I was able to do in minutes. This motivates me to ensure my entries on AtoM are as comprehensive as possible, to pay it forward and make access to information that much easier.
Every week I read some fascinating stories about mill restorations and conversions, but the one that stood out for me last week was the effort that was put into the restoration of Wimbledon Windmill and its conversion into a museum. It was a charming community collaboration, with everyone from Mr. Harry Boxall, the mill maintenance man, to the local Boy Scouts and Girl Guides getting involved with fundraising. They also managed to get help from the sale of local artwork and a submission from Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman! This story really made me appreciate the importance of the windmill in the local community, and the lengths people would go to in order to preserve their heritage.
In my cataloguing last week, I also came across some absolutely beautiful sketches of mills. Even though I have seen some spectacular photography of mills, somehow these sketches manage to convey the rustic appeal and majesty of the mills in an entirely different way. I would highly encourage you all to have a look at our online collection, and leave your opinions in the comments below.
I am looking forward to the rest of my internship being just as engaging as I have found it so far. There are still exciting developments to look out for, such as the launching of the new website, as well as additions to our ever growing collection of archive material. Keep watching this space for updates!