Blog
Advice and expertise from AM, and special guest posts by leading archivists, academics and librarians from around the world.
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Going digital with AM Quartex: the importance of image quality in a digital platform
In preparation for migration to AM Quartex, the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press is taking the opportunity to reassess its practices related to the quality of images that are created and displayed digitally. Learn more in part two of this guest blog series.
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Forging “new links between the America and the Africa of today and tomorrow.”
Seventy years on from publication of the first issue, Emily Stafford, AM Editor, explores how the American Committee on Africa’s newsletter, Africa Today, served the committee’s aim of informing the American public about African affairs and built on the collective power of small individual actions to effect change.
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Moving to AM Quartex: University of Delaware’s migration of digital collections
In the first of a guest blog series from the University of Delaware, discover the challenges and legacy systems limiting usage of the library's digitised special collections, and how the library team arrived at the decision to migrate its many-faceted, multimedia collections to AM Quartex.
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'[N]othing we can add… that has not been presented already:' Los Angeles' bid for the 1956 Summer Olympics
As Los Angeles prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games, Matt Brand, Editor, delves into the city’s 1956 bid, revealing surprising twists and turns through promotional material and behind-the-scenes correspondence featured in The Olympic Movement: Sport, Global Politics, and Identity.
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Impressions of Budapest in 1944: Diaries of German Occupation
Eighty years on from the occupation of Hungary by German troops during the Second World War, one woman’s diaries offer a personal perspective on a globally significant event. This blog explores the accounts of Scottish journalist Margaret Mackenzie Scott as she navigates her new reality under German occupation far from her homeland.
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Celebration and subversion: the power of song in Hindi cinema
The Indian film industry is the largest in the world by film output and not far behind in terms of revenue. This blog dives into Hindi cinema's cultural resonance, showcasing interviews and on-set footage with key figures in the industry from Hindi Cinema: Histories of Film-making.
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Electric dreams and excess in the 1980s
Step into the vibrant tapestry of the 1980s, where anti-nuclear protests, political upheavals, and iconic figures like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan mingled with the neon glow of shoulder pads, arcade games, and synthesizers.
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What to ask about digital collections migration support
Whatever your drivers for change, the migration of your digital collections requires planning, resources, strategic buy-in and, not least, the support services of your chosen vendor. Given how important these migration support services can be, it’s crucial to ask some fundamental questions to, as far as possible, guarantee a smooth experience.
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Celebrating milestones and anniversaries with digital exhibits
Harris County Public Library celebrated its centenary with over two dozen digital exhibits that chart its history from the first library stations to becoming America’s tenth largest public library system. CJ Williams, Technical Services Manager, reflects on her experience of creating exhibits using AM Quartex and offers advice for establishing efficient exhibit workflows.
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Implementing AM Quartex to drive a digital shift
In the first of a new blog series, Joanne Fitton, Deputy Director of Libraries, Museums and Galleries at the University of Liverpool, charts the journey so far in effecting digital change across the institution's heritage services.
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From "potted sunshine" to animated diagrams: Topical Budget and the filming of British Newsreels
Comprising over six thousand films, British Newsreels, 1911-1930: Culture and Society on Film represents the vast majority of surviving Topical Budget newsreels, now digitised and presented together for the first time. Jade Bailey, Assistant Editor, AM looks at a number of the black and white, silent newsreels which focus on the process of filmmaking itself and new techniques of the time which are interspersed throughout the collection.
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Colonial Violence in the Caribbean: The Morant Bay Rebellion and the Royal Commission of Inquiry
Beth Abbott, Editor, delves into reports, evidence and correspondence from another brutal chapter in the history of colonial violence in Jamaica in the third and final module of Colonial Caribbean . The Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865, marked a tragic episode in the Caribbean's history of colonial violence and this blog looks at the brutal response by Governor Eyre and colonial authorities, which led to indiscriminate violence and death and the subsequent Royal Commission of Inquiry.
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Making it personal: the power of digital archives to foster our sense of belonging
What would it mean to see yourself or your own lived experience within a digital archive? In his first blog for AM, Jameson Worley uses his personal experience to answer these questions. And he explores the ways in which digital archives have fostered his own sense of community belonging.
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"Social Coventry": the trials and tribulations of the Phnom Penh embassy
Alex Barr, Assistant Editor looks at the reports, telegrams and correspondence in AM's newest module, documenting the events and aftermath of the attach on the British Embassy in March 1964.
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The RSC’s ‘Yuppie’ Romeo and Juliet
AM Editor, Matthew Brand takes a look at some of the RSC prompt books in our our newest Shakespeare collection, pulling out the visually stunning 1986 ‘Yuppie’ production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Michael Bogdanov and starring Sean Bean and Niamh Cusack.
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Embedding accessibility into digital collections: Putting theory into practice
In part 1 of her blog, Helen Duriez, Head of Product at AM, considered why accessibility matters and to whom. In part 2, discover examples of institutions using our technology to serve their audiences as well as how we consider accessibility in the context of our own primary source collections.
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Embedding accessibility into digital collections: Why accessibility matters
In the first of a two-part blog, Helen Duriez, Head of Product at AM, considers what accessibility means to us as a digital publisher and creator of Quartex, and reveals how we hold ourselves to account when it comes to meeting our customers' requirements.
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One DAMS, multiple applications: maximising return on investment in the context of digital collections
The myriad benefits of serving multiple audiences with separate digital collections sites, all managed from one flexible, powerful and efficient DAMS, are being realised by libraries and archives across the US and around the world. Learn from the examples set by San Francisco State University, Harris County Public Library and Harris County Archives, and Syracuse University.
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Envisioning “The Fabulous Future” of mass communications through David Sarnoff’s speeches
AM Senior Editor, Sophie Heath looks at our newest module, highlighting some of David Sarnoff's speeches and articles sharing his visions for the broadcasting industry, now digitised from the David Sarnoff Papers held at Hagley Museum and Library as part of our Broadcasting America: The Rise of Mass Media and Communications.
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The Berlin Conference and the New Imperialism in Africa
Eleanor Masters, Editorial Assistant at AM dives into our newest module Africa and the New Imperialism looking at the significance of the Berlin Conference from 1888-1885.
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Why access to archives matters
Like many members of the AM team, Ana Attrill-Klein, who recently joined our Customer Experience team, has a background working in libraries and archives. In this blog, Ana shares how these experiences have strengthened her belief in archival materials being accessible to all.
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Five ways Quartex promotes effective and efficient working
We designed AM Quartex with ease of use and efficient working practices front of mind. In a recent webinar, we explored some of the key processes in Quartex that ease digital asset management; here are five of them.
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Barking mad: a history of our love for canines
Natalie Dale, editor at AM, alongside other members of the editorial team share their personal highlights of canines featured in some of our collections such as Interwar Culture and Mass Observation Project.
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Tales from the Green Dragon: uncovering lived experiences in HCA records
Graham Moore, PhD student and Associate Lecturer at University of Reading and The National Archives UK, uncovers historical lived experiences in HCA records, now digitised as part of Life at Sea.