I recently spent a wet Sunday afternoon wandering through the towns,
villages, mountains and glens of the Scottish Highlands and Islands,
but I returned warm, dry and not a muddy boot or a soaked raincoat
in sight.
I went to Am Baile: the Gaelic Village. Where's that? Everywhere
and nowhere, for Am Baile is a website, with a fascinating digital
archive of the history and culture of the Gaidhealtachd. I had set
aside an hour for the purposes of researching this article, but I
found myself exploring more and more of the site, even though I was
pursuing no particular line of investigation.
You should go to Am Baile if you have a computer, an internet connection
and an interest in the Highlands and Islands. It's a very friendly
site - in fact it's like the best museums and art galleries, which
lead you on with new treasures round every corner.
The main subject list provides an initial choice: economy, society,
places, religion, environment, people, culture. The first page for
each subject offers more specific choices and includes a bibiliography
for further reading - available no doubt through the regular library
service.
Each introductory page includes a carefully-selected sample from
the collection, which side-tracks you neatly into further exploration.
I went to the registration page (where you can request to be kept
informed of developments to the site) and found an image entitled:
"Sentence of banishment for driving away sheep" dated 1792. Who could
resist? "Click" (with the computer mouse): a page of description appeared,
full details of the document's origins, and a photograph with the
option of viewing a larger version. "Click" and the document, in its
original copperplate, filled my screen. Curiosity satisfied. Now,
where was I? Ah yes, registration…
One of the best places to start is the exhibition, Our Favourite
Images, where the management team present their favourite items,
with a personal note explaining their choice. The enthusiasm is palpable
and infectious and the choices as varied as the collection itself:
a page from Inverness Burgh accounts (1780s/90s) lists the cost of
everything bought, from a chamber pot to a set of gallows and the
executioner's annual salary; an extract from the diary of nine-year-old
Malcolm Blane (1901) gives a child's-eye view of the events of the
time, complete with drawings and maps; a photograph of three children
playing in the snow (1950s) led to the original children being traced
and reunited at the launch of the Am Baile website in May 2003.
If you're researching a specific subject, you can type appropriate
keywords into a box on the screen. I tried "Glencoe", and was presented
with a list of around a dozen items, each accompanied by a tiny photograph.
I chose one: "click". A page from The Highland Sportsman arrived
on the screen. The description said the book was written by Robert
Hall in 1882 "in the hope that it would be found useful by everyone
interested in the Highlands for whatever reason." It lists the "name,
area and height of the principal mountains in Argyllshire." My page
included Meall Mor in Glencoe. And so the trail leads you on…
I arranged to meet the people running the website. The five-strong
team have their own allocated section of workspace within Highland
Council's Library Services. This is a large, strip-light-bright, open
plan office tucked away in the maze of an industrial estate on the
outskirts of Inverness, and much more difficult to find than Am Baile
itself. Here decisions are made, archives scrutinised, material selected,
cleared for copyright, catalogued and cross-referenced, technical
data allocated, an ever-growing database maintained, statistics recorded
(16,000 visitors during September 2004) and promotional materials
developed.
Alwyne Slasor - Content Management and Development Officer - was
generous with her overloaded time and gave me an excellent insight
into the origins, aims and practicalities of the website. The initial
project was started in 2001 by a three-way consortium comprising the
Highland Council, the Taigh Chearsabhagh Trust in North Uist, and
Perthshire-based West Highland Animation.
Start-up funding came from the New Opportunities Fund as part of
their UK-wide digitisation programme. The fund is a National Lottery
good cause distributor, and its aim is to "bring the learning material
and resources currently contained in galleries, libraries, museums
and universities directly into homes and communities". In Scotland,
£6 million is being used to create a "virtual communities bank" of
internet learning. Further financial support came more recently from
Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
The Highland Council was anxious to develop its existing policy of
equal access to services for the 208,000 residents scattered thinly
over 10,000 square miles of Badenoch and Strathspey, Caithness, Inverness,
Lochaber, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh and Sutherland.
The council's own considerable archive - along with a number of museum
collections - forms a vital part of the indigenous heritage and culture
of the Highlands. However, access is hampered by the remoteness of
the central resources in Inverness from many of the communities served
by the council. Whilst an excellent library loans service exists across
the region, there are many instances where a user would need to make
a long and often complex journey - possibly involving ferries and
overnight accommodation - in order to consult a collection of source
material. On the other hand, archived material and private collections
are held in stewardship and cannot be sent out, so there is much that
is only accessible via Am Baile.
The Taigh Chearsabhagh Trust is a local history and community arts
trust based in Lochmaddy and serving North Uist, Benbecula, South
Uist, and Barra. It's a lively place: its café is a meeting point
for local residents and visitors, its exhibitions, publications, and
arts activities programme draw together the islands' communities and
schools. The project gave the Trust a chance "to make connections
between its location, history, creative work and people; to create
an archive record of material for research and to inform future creative
projects; and to provide source material for schools and colleges,
and to help create a useful resource for Gaelic speakers and learners."
West Highland Animation, geographically on the southern edge of the
Highlands, is committed to "promoting the indigenous Gaelic heritage
and culture of the Highlands and Islands through the medium of animation
and interactivity". The company is noted for its animation films based
on Highland myths and legends, and it contributed the Fun and Games
section, which opens with the message: "CHILDREN WELCOME HERE but
adults not banned." There are games, comics, films and quizzes, all
interactive and all in both Gaelic and English (Gaelic first - if
you want the English version, you can select it). I tried a quiz.
It was good fun, and I certainly didn't get all the answers right!
The intention is "to draw children and Gaelic learners into this novel
way of approaching the oral tradition and allow the more serious user
to access, in Gaelic and English and text and audio form, the original
material on which the animations and interactive games and stories
are based".
The priority given to Gaelic in this section reflects the policy
of bilingualism which has been an essential ingredient from the start.
The commitment to Gaelic is huge. The whole website is available in
both Gaelic and English, not just certain paragraphs or sections.
English material is translated into Gaelic, and Gaelic material is
translated into English.
It is no accident that the website name is Gaelic, with an English
sub-title. Ironically, its predominance on promotional material has
apparently led some non-Gaelic speakers to assume the website is not
for them. Alwyne was keen to dispel this illusion and emphasised that
whilst Am Baile is seen as a major new resource for Gaelic speakers
and learners, the site is very much for everyone. The central operating
system detects whether a visitor's computer is set up for English
or Gaelic and will open the corresponding version of the site. Once
you're in, it's a simple mouse-click to change language and back again.
If, for example, you're learning Gaelic and have your computer set
up in that language but are unsure of the meaning of a particular
section or word, you can swap to English then back again, and continue
in Gaelic. The benefits for educational purposes are obvious, and
Gaelic speakers have commented that the site has helped expand the
register of the language through the wide range of material presented.
In terms of time and cost, this kind of commitment is not cheap.
Material is selected and digitised (made into digital images for display
on a computer screen) by one of several outside contractors, according
to their specialised skills. This is the easy part - by September
2004 there were just under 20,000 digitised items, of which half had
been added to the website. For each item, accompanying text is written
and edited in English by the Inverness-based team, translated into
Gaelic by freelance translators and editors, a record is added to
the database, and at last the material appears on the website - a
new arrival in the Gaelic village.
I asked Alwyne how she decides what to include, when clearly time
is at a premium. She gave me an example from the Fraser MacIntosh
collection of antiquarian books: if a book is a limited edition or
out of print she will include it; if there is a modern reprint available,
she won't. At every juncture, the policy is to provide ready access
to material that would otherwise be available in only one place. Alwyne
also pointed out that every item has an "owner", whose permission
for publication must be obtained. Copyright of photographs and private
letters is notoriously difficult to trace, but it was clear that the
detective work involved was tackled with relish and, of course, success
brings its own satisfaction once the item can be added to the website.
The majority of material so far has come from the Highland Council
archives and the Wick North Highland archive. Within this there are
a number of special collections, such as the Nairn collection (Jimmy
Nairn, an Inverness photographer in the 1950s and '60s); the David
Whyte collection (Inverness, 1860s and '70s); the Duncan MacPherson
collection (pharmacist and photographer in Kyle of Lochalsh, 1920s
and '30s); the Campbeltown collection from Argyll and Bute (everyday
images from 1890-1911 by two amateur photographers); the Highland
Photographic Archive from Inverness Museum…the list goes on.
What of the future? Following the official launch in 2003, the Highland
Council has made a commitment to maintaining the website up to October
2007, and hopefully beyond. With regard to the content, Alwyne would
like to see more audio material on the site, for example Gaelic songs,
with the words presented on screen in Gaelic and English. There remains
a wealth of documentation in the council archives, and other institutions
and organisations are now making contact, with offers of material.
For example, a selection of photographs has been made available by
Edinburgh City Library from the collection of I. F. Grant, founder
of the Highland Folk Museum. The Highland Sites and Monuments Record,
developed and maintained by the Archaeology Unit of the Highland Council
Planning and Development Service, has also been made accessible through
Am Baile. This record is the only part of the website not yet available
in Gaelic, but Alwyne explained that it was considered of sufficient
importance to make the material immediately available, although it
was only in English.
Am Baile is obviously not the only online source of information about
the culture and history of the Gaidhealtachd. It does, however, have
the potential to become the main access point (or portal) for whatever
material is available. One member of the team is responsible for linking
Am Baile into other relevant websites (click on the name and the site
appears on your screen). I asked if there were any overlap between
the pages of links, which are divided according to subject area. "No,
every link is listed once only under one subject heading only." I
counted: 6 subject headings; 77 links on one subject page; that makes
approximately 462 related websites - so far. That's a lot of access
to a lot of information.
Promoting Am Baile is a high priority. Publicity material is distributed
in libraries and other strategic points in the form of posters, bookmarks
and postcards, and there is an ongoing programme of outreach work
through events such as the Inverness Highland Games, and at venues
like Sabhal Mor Ostaig on Skye and partner organisation Taigh Chearsabhagh.
Schools are encouraged to get involved through competitions, which
are reported in the local press. The staff enjoy these forays into
the "real" world. They find it hard to judge - from the confines of
the office - what they're getting right or wrong, and direct contact
with the people they are trying to serve brings useful feedback.
In 2004 Am Baile received public acclaim only a year after its launch,
with an Alan Ball Local History award for local history publishing
by public libraries and local authorities. This is a UK-wide award
established by the Library Services Trust - a fine start. Let's hope
that, beyond October 2007, this excellent initiative becomes permanently
established as a worldwide contribution to the heritage of the Gaidhealtachd.