Cataloguing and electronic access to archives of British mathematical and physical scientists

科学在现代世界中具有核心意义，也是历史研究的一个日益增长的领域。历史学家需要为他们的研究提供主要来源，包括主要人物的通信和研究笔记本。这些不仅可以说明科学过程本身，也可以说明科学对更广泛世界的影响。科学家们在他们的实验室、办公室和私人家中保存着许多二十世纪的科学文献。因此，在档案库之外，历史研究在很大程度上无法访问。在过去的30年里，巴斯大学当代科学家档案馆国家编目单位(NCUACS)与皇家学会合作，在保存和使杰出的当代科学家的档案可供历史研究使用方面发挥了关键作用，其中包括非常多的英国诺贝尔奖获得者。总共有262名英国科学家的各种学科的档案被NCUAC找到并编目，存放在全国54个大学图书馆和档案馆。这是对英国科学研究历史的巨大贡献，也是对储存库的巨大好处，后者一旦从编目单位收到科学家的档案，就能将其提供给研究人员。这构成了NCUAC向AHRC提出的资源增强建议的基本背景，即对数学和物理科学中11位主要人物的未经处理的档案进行编目并使其可供访问，以存放在9个学术图书馆和档案馆。编目过程将使研究人员第一次能够实际查阅档案，而用最新的档案编目软件编制的目录将通过国家大学档案编目委员会网站和若干国家和地方网络在他们自己的个人计算机上提供给研究人员。此外，为了确保最大限度地利用项目档案，在编目过程中还将开展宣传活动，利用传单、项目工作人员对科学史中心的宣传访问以及在NCUAC网站上开设专门的项目网页。该项目提供了一个独特的机会，以增进对物理和数学科学塑造现代世界的方式的理解。这些历史档案记录了11位顶尖科学家在原子物理、超低温、磁共振成像、射电天文学和量子理论等领域的前沿工作，以及他们在战争、工业、教育、环境和政府等更广泛的公众角色中的工作。在当前最感兴趣的领域，如核问题、难民科学家和科学领域的女性，将为历史研究开辟研究机会。

"Science is of central importance in the modern world and a growing area of historical study. Historians need primary sources for their research including the correspondence and research notebooks of leading figures. These may illuminate not only the scientific process itself but the impact of science on the wider world. The documentation of much twentieth-century science remains with the scientists in their laboratories, offices and private homes. Thus outside the archive repository it is largely inaccessible for historical research. Over the last thirty years the National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists (NCUACS) at the University of Bath working in association with the Royal Society has played a key role in preserving and making accessible for historical research the archives of distinguished contemporary scientists including a very significant number of British Nobel Laureates. In total 262 archives of British scientists across a wide range of disciplines have been located and catalogued by the NCUACS for deposit in 54 academic libraries and archives across the country. This has been an enormous contribution to history of science research in the UK and an enormous benefit to the repositories who are able to make the scientists' archives available to researchers as soon as they receive them from the cataloguing unit This forms the essential background to the NCUACS's resource enhancement proposal to the AHRC, to catalogue and make accessible the unprocessed archives of eleven major figures in the mathematical and physical sciences for deposit in nine academic libraries and archives. The cataloguing process will result in physical access to the archives for the first time while the catalogues, produced with the latest archival cataloguing software, will be made available to researchers at their own personal computers via the NCUACS website and a number of national and local networks. Furthermore to ensure maximum use of the project archives the cataloguing process will be accompanied by a publicity campaign using traditional means such as leaflets, promotional visits to history of science centres by project staff and dedicated project web pages on the NCUACS website. The project offers a unique opportunity to advance understanding of the ways in which the physical and mathematical sciences have shaped the modem world. The historical archives document the work of eleven leading scientists at the forefront of fields such as atomic physics, ultralow temperatures, magnetic resonance imaging, radio astronomy and quantum theory, and in their wider public roles in respect of war, industry, education, environment and government. Research opportunities will be opened up for historical study in areas of great current interest such as nuclear questions, refugee scientists and women in science."