Archive peril

Published on 09/10/2012 00:00

Historians, local, national and international, widely concerned about the implications of the agreement signed last week between the Roman Catholic Bishops of Scotland and Aberdeen University to transfer the one million historic archives from Columba House in Edinburgh to the recently constructed Aberdeen University Library, have been kept in the dark over the timescale of the transfer of the material.

Nor do they know the detail of which parts of the post-1878 Scottish Catholic Archives will stay in Edinburgh or be divided among the remaining seven diocesan centres. The scanning of the historic archives, in particular the digitisation of the 32,000 Blairs 
Letters, must have high priority because of the width and depth of their contents and correspondents.

Although this was one of the main justifications for the transfer to Aberdeen, it seems that there is as yet no detailed scanning programme in place, no intention to scan all the one million historic archives and currently no funding.

It appears the fate of the post-1878 material is still at the mercy of the four winds and that the continued integrity of the whole collection is now seriously at risk. This leads inevitably to the conclusion that the Scottish Catholic Archives as a national concept cannot survive.

Michael T R B 
Turnbull, PhD

Orchard Court

Longniddry, East Lothian