![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
choco_froshMicrofilm, in my opinion, is generally a good idea. It allows you to make backup hard copies of vital historical sources, which one can then sell or lend too distant institutions in a way that would not be possible with the original document. Admittedly, electronic versions are even better for these purposes. But you can’t have everything.
There are, however, some times when microfilm is not so fun. Like, oh, say, when the microfilm isn’t so high quality. Or is white on black. Or the book is in horrible fifteenth-century cursive.
Or all of the above.
I went to Freiburg the other day, to look up some stuff in the one surviving book of medieval ecclesiastical court records for the diocese of Konstanz. This time, I’d remembered to bring along my camera, so as to be able to photograph the pages I (might) need, hence obviating the necessity of making yet ANOTHER trip to Freiburg. This being the case, after lunch I thought I’d look at some other sources in the archive that I’d identified from the Regesta Episcoporum Constantiae (One of these enormous German 19th to early twentieth century projects to track down every document even associated with various historical figures). I really should have looked at this earlier…well, maybe not. You have to trawl through pages and pages to find anything even POTENTIALLY useful: I mean, I was trying to look up were the documents numbered 9915, 9937, 10059, 10092, 10103, 10124 and 10258 in the REC. groan. Made more complicated by the fact that I’d thought one of these books was court records. (Academic research is not made easier when documents get moved between archives, changing their classification numbers in the process).
So I asked for them and, yep, they gave me the microfilms instead of the originals. Like I say, not completely dumb--saves wear and tear on the MS--but a real pain in the tuchus in this case.
The fact that there were microfilms, however, did give me hope that I would be able to spend a little more time with them that way without the (admittedly scenic) train trip through the Black Forest. Surely, since the documents had been in Konstanz as recently as 1940, the Stadtarchiv would have copies of the microfilms? I asked the archivist. Not to his knowledge, there weren’t any other copies.
OK, who makes only ONE copy of a set of microfilms? One would think the company would at least keep a file copy. And even just paying some academic schmuck to put a book through the copying process, bifolion by bifolion, must cost something. Surely if you printed out a few extra reels, someone would buy them? You’d think you could talk the University or the Stadtarchiv in Konstanz into purchasing a set, and Karlsruhe would probably take one too. And couldn’t you convince some university in that this was exactly what their medieval program needed? “The complete archive of the Diocese of Konstanz, 700-1529! On microfilm! Enrich your history program today!” But no. (Unless he’s mistaken, which I suppose is possible)
So Thursday was fairly productive, but also rather stressful and annoying. And then I dropped my computer while racing out the door to catch my train, and now the keys are sticking. I guess I should just be glad the screen’s in one piece. (knock wood)
A few other things:
I´m glad, on the whole, that there are still people with near-incomprehensible Swabian accents. I can more or less follow what they´re saying. And I reakky shouldn´t be surprised that some of these people a) work in archives, or b) have multiple piercings/leather cowboy pants/ghetto-fabulous teenagers. What´s really disturbing is my OWN tendency to start speaking something ressembling Schwäbisch myself when addressing them. (Compare Margaret´s migrating accents). I guess it´s too much time spent with fruit-sellers and fifteenth-century texts.
Why is there a separate train from Neustadt-im-Schwarzwald (very nearly as middle-of-fíng nowhere as it sounds) to Donaueschingen? Practically everyone will get off the train from Freiburg, walk across the platform, and head for Donaueschingen, where about half of them will transfer to the train to Konstanz. Would it really kill you to have the train from Ulm go two and a half more stops? Or even (gasp) run a train direct to onstanz maybe once a day?
On the basis of two trips back from Freiburg, I now theorize that they only check tickets on trains with carniverous doors. Though again, the question arises as to WHY.
more later. must go rehearse with ukrainians.
There are, however, some times when microfilm is not so fun. Like, oh, say, when the microfilm isn’t so high quality. Or is white on black. Or the book is in horrible fifteenth-century cursive.
Or all of the above.
I went to Freiburg the other day, to look up some stuff in the one surviving book of medieval ecclesiastical court records for the diocese of Konstanz. This time, I’d remembered to bring along my camera, so as to be able to photograph the pages I (might) need, hence obviating the necessity of making yet ANOTHER trip to Freiburg. This being the case, after lunch I thought I’d look at some other sources in the archive that I’d identified from the Regesta Episcoporum Constantiae (One of these enormous German 19th to early twentieth century projects to track down every document even associated with various historical figures). I really should have looked at this earlier…well, maybe not. You have to trawl through pages and pages to find anything even POTENTIALLY useful: I mean, I was trying to look up were the documents numbered 9915, 9937, 10059, 10092, 10103, 10124 and 10258 in the REC. groan. Made more complicated by the fact that I’d thought one of these books was court records. (Academic research is not made easier when documents get moved between archives, changing their classification numbers in the process).
So I asked for them and, yep, they gave me the microfilms instead of the originals. Like I say, not completely dumb--saves wear and tear on the MS--but a real pain in the tuchus in this case.
The fact that there were microfilms, however, did give me hope that I would be able to spend a little more time with them that way without the (admittedly scenic) train trip through the Black Forest. Surely, since the documents had been in Konstanz as recently as 1940, the Stadtarchiv would have copies of the microfilms? I asked the archivist. Not to his knowledge, there weren’t any other copies.
OK, who makes only ONE copy of a set of microfilms? One would think the company would at least keep a file copy. And even just paying some academic schmuck to put a book through the copying process, bifolion by bifolion, must cost something. Surely if you printed out a few extra reels, someone would buy them? You’d think you could talk the University or the Stadtarchiv in Konstanz into purchasing a set, and Karlsruhe would probably take one too. And couldn’t you convince some university in that this was exactly what their medieval program needed? “The complete archive of the Diocese of Konstanz, 700-1529! On microfilm! Enrich your history program today!” But no. (Unless he’s mistaken, which I suppose is possible)
So Thursday was fairly productive, but also rather stressful and annoying. And then I dropped my computer while racing out the door to catch my train, and now the keys are sticking. I guess I should just be glad the screen’s in one piece. (knock wood)
A few other things:
I´m glad, on the whole, that there are still people with near-incomprehensible Swabian accents. I can more or less follow what they´re saying. And I reakky shouldn´t be surprised that some of these people a) work in archives, or b) have multiple piercings/leather cowboy pants/ghetto-fabulous teenagers. What´s really disturbing is my OWN tendency to start speaking something ressembling Schwäbisch myself when addressing them. (Compare Margaret´s migrating accents). I guess it´s too much time spent with fruit-sellers and fifteenth-century texts.
Why is there a separate train from Neustadt-im-Schwarzwald (very nearly as middle-of-fíng nowhere as it sounds) to Donaueschingen? Practically everyone will get off the train from Freiburg, walk across the platform, and head for Donaueschingen, where about half of them will transfer to the train to Konstanz. Would it really kill you to have the train from Ulm go two and a half more stops? Or even (gasp) run a train direct to onstanz maybe once a day?
On the basis of two trips back from Freiburg, I now theorize that they only check tickets on trains with carniverous doors. Though again, the question arises as to WHY.
more later. must go rehearse with ukrainians.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 02:50 pm (UTC)The Geneological Society of Utah (aka the Mormon Church) actually have an amazing collection of microfilm - they film stuff from all over Britain, and with good quality control too. But it's apparently not that easy to buy from them - Sue R. at the library says it's possible, but not easy.
Can you see the originals of yours if you request (esp for photographing)? Because my local office will do it, though they prefer you to use the microfilm. But some are sticklers and refuse to produce the original at all (Wrightson ran into this in Northumberland). My office are really nice.