Materiality matters: exploring how archivists engage with, and represent, textile pattern books digitally

Spence, Alison Dawn (2025) Materiality matters: exploring how archivists engage with, and represent, textile pattern books digitally. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Archive services devote considerable resources to digitising collections and collection metadata, transforming public access and raising awareness of the wealth of records available for research and enjoyment. However, digital access predominantly focuses on document content and fails to effectively communicate the form, construction and tangibility of records, as well as the physical evidence they embed about their creation and career. Using textile industry pattern books as a case study, this thesis examines why the material features of archives matter and explores how archivists engage with materiality in their practice. It undertakes an analysis of archival theory and methodology to identify reasons why materiality receives limited attention in professional discourse. Through seven institutional case studies and learning from analysis of the Humanities community’s digital practices, the thesis asks how archivists can create effective, material-centred, digital access to pattern books. The research provides compelling insights into the significant contribution physical evidence makes to the interpretation of textile heritage. It highlights that accessible digitisation techniques, such as angled shots or photographing a group of boxes, effectively communicate physicality and context, while linked data supports collection discovery and reveals unexpected relationships. The findings emphasize the digital divide which exists in the archive sector and identify that many services are held back from fulfilling their digital aspirations by a lack of capacity and resources, more so than by access to technology. The thesis adds to the growing body of evidence of the ways in which materiality builds connections, informs the interpretation of function, use, provenance and context, and underpins archival practices in exhibition-making and engagement.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CD Diplomatics. Archives. Seals > CD921 Archives
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Information Studies
• Supervisor's Name: Hughes, Professor Lorna, Prescott, Professor Andrew and Quye, Professor Anita
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85223
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Jun 2025 14:33
• Last Modified: 19 Jun 2025 14:36
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85223
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85223