Introducing Javi

 In this blog, we welcome Javi, who's already been really busy in his first month as Access Officer....

Hello, LHSA enthusiasts! My name is Javi García and I recently started my new role as LHSA Access Officer at the University of Edinburgh.

 While my goal was to break into the heritage sector, working in an archival and academic environment was not something I had previously considered. It wasn’t until I completed two internships at the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Glasgow and the Glasgow School of Art, respectively, that I realised the versatility of archives to reach out to different audiences and impact them positively. From cataloguing and digitisation projects that facilitate access to collections for everyone to research and enquiry work, those initially daunting volumes and documents became meaningful, unique, and, often, poignant primary sources that tell hidden personal stories and resonate with very diverse communities from all four corners of the globe.

 But… what is an Access Officer? I lost count of the number of times I have been asked this question in the last month. Broadly speaking, I am the person responsible for facilitating access to our collections both in-person and online. Amongst my tasks, I will be researching and replying to non-confidential enquiries, liaising with Heritage Collections staff and external stakeholders to increase audience engagement, delivering talks/workshops/tours, preparing and supporting seminars and teaching, processing digitisation orders… You name it. With this in view, and while it could be argued that LHSA collections present a number of challenges based on the sensitive information they contain, I see this as an opportunity to think of new ways to reach out to as many potential service users as possible; such as underrepresented groups, healthcare students and professionals, and local communities. Our team shares the goal of making our archive accessible to everyone and always encourages people to get in touch with us or make an appointment in our Reading Room to peek at some fascinating items. So, if our kind readers could help us spread the word, that would help us enormously!

To give everyone a flavour of the types of activities I have been involved with so far, I helped co-deliver a Summer School session during my first week for a group of 20+ students who are interested in pursuing a career in heritage. They were introduced to how to access our archive in contrast with the University’s Heritage Collections. They also had the opportunity to dive into (and handle!) some of our collection items to answer a series of real-life family history enquiries. It was great to see them engage with an array of written accounts, challenge their findings, and reflect critically on the differences between the records and present-day archival work. On a more personal note, it was a fulfilling experience as a recent graduate who finds himself “on the other side” for the first time and feels his journey has come full circle.

Nurse training records, like this page from a volume covering nurses trained in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, were used by Summer School participants to track down enquirers' relatives (LHB1/97/1)

Similarly, our team participated in the recent Doors Open Days festival at the old Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, which has been recently reimagined as the Edinburgh Futures Institute. We delved into the past and explored life as a patient or member of staff at the old Royal and displayed a fascinating selection of items drawn from the hospital’s archives including plans, photographs, letters and even recipes! Hats off to our amazing Archivist, Louise, for ensuring everything was in place for a smooth delivery of the event. The turnout exceeded our expectations with almost 700 people visiting our space, many of whom worked, were admitted to, or visited the Royal Infirmary at some point in their lives. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to them reminisce about their experiences and felt how their testimonies brought the archive to life. The event also allowed us to knock down some of the barriers we face daily as a team. Visitors got to know the faces behind their computer screens and enquired about the scope of our work. I felt it was an incredibly beneficial exchange for everyone. Archives can sometimes be seen as secluded bunkers of knowledge and the event helped us establish some new relationships and consolidate some existing ones with part of our online audience.

Visitors during Doors Open Day, 28 September 2024 @Chris Scott

My first month working with the LHSA team has been an intense and rewarding journey. I am really proud to be part of our small, yet mighty team and can’t wait to see what the coming months hold for me.

Stay tuned.