From coffee and cake to a published volume – a successful collaborative project!

A post by Research Engagement and Collections Development Archivist Dr Jonathan Bush

One of most rewarding aspects of working in the Archives and Special Collections team of ULC is the opportunity to build close working relationships with a diverse range of researchers, including academics, students, and family historians. These interactions often begin as conversations, where we offer specialist advice about our collections and guide researchers to relevant material in the catalogue. Occasionally, however, these exchanges can evolve into more significant collaborations.

For over a decade, I worked as a Durham University archivist, helping to manage the library of a former Roman Catholic seminary at Ushaw College (now Ushaw Historic House, Gardens and Chapels). During this time, I shaped the acquisitions policy to include preserving Catholic collections considered ‘at risk’ of potential loss. Among the earliest archives acquired were those of Catholic lay societies – organisations led by the laity (ordinary Catholics, not the clergy) to address the wider social, political and cultural issues of the twentieth century. These included the Catholic Women’s League, the National Board of Catholic Women, the Catholic Student Council and the Catholic Renewal Movement. The latter, inspired by 1960s countercultural methods, notably opposed the papal decree, Humane Vitae, which forbid Catholics to use contraception, for example.

The papers of these societies had been stored in the attics or basements by former members, some of whom, it is fair to say, did not always recognise their historical value – in one instance, a collection was reportedly rescued from a skip! Through word of mouth, these archives gradually found their way into the University and stored at Ushaw. It was only during the cataloguing process that I began to understand their significant potential for researchers studying twentieth century history, an increasingly prominent field of academic interest.

In 2019, Durham University launched the Residential Research Library Fellowships (now the Durham Collections Fellowships), to encourage scholarly engagement using the collections of Durham University, Durham Cathedral, and Ushaw. This initiative spurred academic interest in the Catholic lay society archives. Over coffee and cake in the Ushaw refectory, I discussed these collections with one such researcher, Dr Maria Power of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University, who was researching the Catholic Women’s League as part of her fellowship. That conversation sparked the idea of compiling an edited volume of essays on lay Catholic societies. A call for contributions was swiftly circulated, receiving an impressive response. After five years, amid a pandemic and job changes, the volume, entitled Lay Catholic Societies in Twentieth Century Britain has finally been published by Boydell and Brewer for the Catholic Record Society: Lay Catholic Societies in Twentieth Century Britain – Boydell and Brewer. The volume features essays covering topics from Catholic participation in the women’s suffrage movement of the early 20^th century to the community’s response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

The publication highlights a successful collaborative project between library professionals and academic staff, drawing on collections from Durham University and elsewhere. It also speaks to the work of Flourish@Durham and the Technician’s Commitment to enhance research representation among professional support staff and promote a wider cultural shift within the University.

Despite this example, collaborations of this kind remain uncommon, as research partnerships typically involve only academic staff. In my (newish) role as Research Engagement and Collections Development Archivist, I aim to change this dynamic by fostering greater use of our collections through collaborative projects and partnerships with academic colleagues, so watch this space!

For more information on this volume, see Lay Catholic Societies in Twentieth Century Britain – Boydell and Brewer.

Information on our collections can be found here: https://dur.ac.uk/departments/library/archives-and-special-collections/