Early Photography in Scotland Edit-a-thon
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What is it?
This edit-a-thon aimed to improve Wikipedia's coverage of early photography in Scotland, particularly with regards to the Edinburgh Calotype Club and the Photographic Society of Scotland. Anyone with an interest in photography or the history of photography was welcome to join us! In addition to improving the article on the Edinburgh Calotype Club (and creating one for the Photographic Society of Scotland) we also hoped to add to the articles on less well-represented early Scottish photographers, including club members. Of course we encouraged anyone with knowledge or an interest in other areas of the history of photography in Scotland to join us as well and to expand on the article or articles that they feel they can improve.
The Library provided wireless so attendees were able to access the Library's digital gallery and those who have a digital readership were able to access the NLS's licensed digital collections ([1]).
Schedule
The event began at 10:00 in the Boardroom, located in the George IV Bridge site in Edinburgh. We started with a 90 minute training session to introduce new contributors to Wikipedia editing.
After the training session there was a 30 minute break with refreshments, then the edit-a-thon proper! We had until 17:00 to contribute; experts in the history of photography in Scotland, as well as the NLS's Wikimedian in Residence. were there to offer help and advice. We also featured a screening of short films offering a brief introduction to Scotland's history of photography, courtesy of the Edinburgh Central Library and the Scottish Screen Archives.
Preparation
- Participants were encouraged to have a look through information booklet that has been written to introduce NLS staff to Wikimedia.
Participants
- Ally Crockford - will be leading the training
- Jonathan Riise - Participant
Potential Articles
These were suggestions for the event:
- Thomas Keith
- The Edinburgh Calotype Club
- The Photographic Society of Scotland
- John Adamson
- Robert Henry Bow
- Archie Strachan
- Thomas Rodger
- George Valentine
- James Valentine
- Francis Godolphin Osbourne Stuart
Resources
In addition to the National Library of Scotland's digital gallery exhibition on the Edinburgh Calotype Club, participants who register for an online readership with the NLS (available for anyone with a mailing address in Scotland) had access to the NLS's licensed digital collections of secondary and primary sources. There are also several freely available online sources which, in addition to secondary sources available through free journals and online book previews (i.e. Google Books and Amazon 'Look Inside'), can offer a great deal of information. These include:
- The Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot
- EdinPhoto.org's History of Photography in Edinburgh
- R.V. Pringle's The George Washington Wilson Photographic Archive: a Postscript
- The James Clerk Maxwell Foundation website
- University of Glasgow's Hill & Adamson Collection
- Edinburgh Libraries' online exhibition 'An Hundred Pictures in Calotype by Hill & Adamson'
- Edinburgh Libraries' online exhibition 'A Partnership of Genius'
- Edinburgh Libraries' online exhibition 'Victorian Studio Portraits'
General resources
There are also a number of more general knowledge resources available freely online which may be of use in providing supplementary information or historical context for your article. These include:
- Scotland's People
- Archives Hub - while Archives Hub does not provide access to resources, it can link you through to some digital collections held by other insitutions
- Internet Archive
- Scran