Big Ideas: 'An heroic, slow-motion cataloguing of life': ethics and digitisation

A culture shift is taking place in the Wellcome Library's Special
Collections team. Driven by a growing realisation that past
acquisition policies have left patient perspectives on health and
well-being woefully under-represented, they have started to
re-evaluate what kinds of material may constitute an 'archive'.
Focusing on an exciting, non-traditional 'archive' acquired
earlier this year, Helen Wakely reflects on the issues and
opportunities that such challenging collections present to the
Library.


Helen Wakely is Archive Project Manager at the Wellcome Library.
She has responsibility for sensitivity assessment and access
issues in the library's Special Collections, and takes a special
interest in promoting public engagement with its archive
collections, particularly in the area of food history.