Geologists' Association: Difference between revisions

From MediaWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(94 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:


== The Geologists' Association ==
== The Geologists' Association ==
n August 1858, a letter appeared in the magazine The Geologist proposing the formation of ‘an Association of Amateur Geologists’ so that ‘solitary’ students of the science could form a society where they ‘could compare notes, give an account of our rambles, examine one another’s fossils and minerals and … be of great assistance to one another.’ As a result, an initial meeting by interested parties was held in London on 29 November 1858, to discuss the establishment of such a society. The name ‘The Geologists’ Association’ was formally adopted at a meeting of the organising committee on 17 December 1858, and a ‘Prospectus’ was circulated with The Geologist of January 1859. The first Ordinary Meeting, held on 11 January 1859, was attended by some 200 persons and the first Annual General Meeting took place on 2 January 1860. In the formation of the Association, particular emphasis was placed on the holding of ‘Excursions or Field Meetings.’ These, together with a regular programme of lectures (a list of which can be viewed here) and an annual exhibition, have remained the ‘backbone of the Association’ since. Another early objective of the Association was the formation of Local Groups, in order to advance the interests of the Association, initially in the home counties, both for the benefits of members and to liaise with other ‘Field-clubs and Societies.’ With the passage of time, our Local groups have since spread across the country.


== The Geologists’ Association Carreck Archive ==
In August 1858, a letter appeared in the magazine The Geologist proposing the formation of ‘an Association of Amateur Geologists’ so that ‘solitary’ students of the science could form a society where they ‘could compare notes, give an account of our rambles, examine one another’s fossils and minerals and … be of great assistance to one another.’ As a result, an initial meeting by interested parties was held in London on 29 November 1858, to discuss the establishment of such a society. The name ‘The Geologists’ Association’ was formally adopted at a meeting of the organising committee on 17 December 1858, and a ‘Prospectus’ was circulated with The Geologist of January 1859. The first Ordinary Meeting, held on 11 January 1859, was attended by some 200 persons and the first Annual General Meeting took place on 2 January 1860. In the formation of the Association, particular emphasis was placed on the holding of ‘Excursions or Field Meetings.’ These, together with a regular programme of lectures (a list of which can be viewed here) and an annual exhibition, have remained the ‘backbone of the Association’ since. Another early objective of the Association was the formation of Local Groups, in order to advance the interests of the Association, initially in the home counties, both for the benefits of members and to liaise with other ‘Field-clubs and Societies.’ With the passage of time, our Local groups have since spread across the country.
 
== Lodore (new style) ==
 
A poetic view of what GA excursions were all about — has anything changed today?!
 
'''LODORE (NEW STYLE)'''
 
[" One of the visits of the Geologists' Association this year will be to Lodore."— Westminster Gazette.]
 
HERE they come chattering,


The [[Geologists' Association Carreck Archive|GA Carreck Archive]] provides an unrivalled record of the Geologists’ Association from its earliest days to the present.
And there they go battering;


Dedicated to Marjorie Carreck (GA Archivist from 1955 to 2010) the Carreck Archive comprises a mix of albums, loose photographs, letters, postcards and associated ephemera. It particularly brings to life the field excursions of the GA; the places visited and the people visiting them. It is this mix of geological record and social history that makes the Carreck Archive unique. The Archive has undergone a complete restoration (funded by the GA Curry Fund) and is now housed with the British Geological Survey in Keyworth. The Archive is being digitised by the BGS and a number of albums are now available to view on the BGS Earthwise website.
Here chopping and chipping


We currently need volunteers to help document and index the archive on-line. It’s a straight forward task, all you need is access to the internet. It’s an opportunity to get to know the archive and contribute to its indexing creating a resource that will be available for everyone to use.
(Excuse for cheap tripping),  


If you’re interested in volunteering, would like to make a donation to the archive, or simply have any questions about what’s in the archive then please do get in touch: archive@geologistsassociation.org.uk
Geologists throng and hurry along.


Jonathan Larwood, GA Archivist
::Now raising a clamour,  


Further reading:
::Now wielding a hammer,  
Larwood, J.G., 2014. New life for historic geology archive. Earth Heritage, 42, 19-20.


Larwood, J.G., 2016. Geotourism: an early photographic insight through the lens of the Geologists’ Association. In: Hose, T.A. (ed.), Appreciating Physical Landscapes: Three Hundred Years of Geotourism, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 117-129.
Lodore's basal braccia they revel among.


== Volunteer projects ==
::Flirting and flitting,


::Volcanic rocks splitting;


{| class="wikitable"
::Spouting and frisking,
|-
|  | '''GA/BGS tasks'''
|  | '''Task'''
|  | '''What’s involved'''
|  | '''Web links'''
|  | '''Actions/progress'''
|  | '''Who’s involved'''
|-
|  | Task 1
|  | Indexing Miss MS Johnston


Initially 4 volunteers
::Their precious lives risking
|  | Detailed index transcription of two MS Johnston Albums


:With climb and with bound;


Instructions and discussion page:
::Collecting, disjecting


:The stones from the mound.


[http://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Talk:M.S._Johnston_album_1_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive' https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Talk:M.S._Johnston_album_1_-_index,_GA_%27Carreck_Archive%27]
::Tugging and toiling,  


::And ruthlessly spoiling


:Fragments of andesite lying around.


::And rocking and shocking,


::And skipping and slipping,


|  | Album 1
::And wrangling and jangling,


[http://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA044 http://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA044]
::And shaking and breaking,


Album 2
::And hopping and dropping,


[http://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA045 http://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA045]
::And heaving and cleaving,


Index page Album 1
::And smashing and crashing,


[http://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php?title=M.S._Johnston_album_1_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive'&stable=0#Page_4 http://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php?title=M.S._Johnston_album_1_-_index,_GA_%27Carreck_Archive%27&stable=0#Page_4]
::And striving and driving and riving,  


::And jumbling and rumbling and tumbling,


:And clattering and battering and shattering,


|  | Album 1 and 2 index page ready
And prying and trying and spying and buying,
|  | Keith Duff


TB, PM, JB
And meeting and greeting and eating and treating,  
|-
|  | Task 2
|  | TW Reader


And jamming and cramming and dramming and—dashing


Album page links
(The genuine scientists one in a score),
|  |


The task is to replace the existing text 'GA001' with the full link to the specific page for the listed item. This allows direct access to an album page image the particular photo is on. Users will be able to see the photo in its page context.
And that's how geologists go to Lodore.


== The Geologists’ Association Carreck Archive ==


[https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Talk:T_W_Reader_geological_photographs,_long_excursions_1914._Part_1_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive' I]
The [[Geologists' Association Carreck Archive|GA Carreck Archive]] provides an unrivalled record of the Geologists’ Association from its earliest days to the present.


Dedicated to Marjorie Carreck (GA Archivist from 1955 to 2010) the Carreck Archive comprises a mix of albums, loose photographs, letters, postcards and associated ephemera. It particularly brings to life the field excursions of the GA; the places visited and the people visiting them. It is this mix of geological record and social history that makes the Carreck Archive unique. The Archive has undergone a complete restoration (funded by the GA Curry Fund) and is now housed with the British Geological Survey in Keyworth. The Archive is being digitised by the BGS and a number of albums are now available to view on the [[Geologists' Association Carreck Archive|BGS Earthwise website]].


We currently need volunteers to help document and index the archive on-line. It’s a straight forward task, all you need is access to the internet. It’s an opportunity to get to know the archive and contribute to its indexing creating a resource that will be available for everyone to use.


|  | Reader Pt 1
If you’re interested in volunteering, would like to make a donation to the archive, or simply have any questions about what’s in the archive then please do get in touch: archive@geologistsassociation.org.uk


[https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/T_W_Reader_geological_photographs,_long_excursions_1914._Part_1_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive' https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/T_W_Reader_geological_photographs,_long_excursions_1914._Part_1_-_index,_GA_%27Carreck_Archive%27]
'''Jonathan Larwood, GA Archivist'''


== Further reading ==
Larwood, J.G., 2014. [https://www.earthheritage.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/EH42_7-14f.pdf New life for historic geology archive. Earth Heritage, 42, 19-20].


Reader Pt 2
Larwood, J.G., 2016. Geotourism: an early photographic insight through the lens of the Geologists’ Association. In: Hose, T.A. (ed.), Appreciating Physical Landscapes: Three Hundred Years of Geotourism, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 117-129.


[https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/T_W_Reader_geological_photographs,_long_excursions_1914._Part_2_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive' https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/T_W_Reader_geological_photographs,_long_excursions_1914._Part_2_-_index,_GA_%27Carreck_Archive%27]
== Volunteer tasks ==
|  | Headings to be inserted.


Representative Excursion photo to be inserted


Instructions at:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|  | '''GA/BGS tasks'''
|  | '''Task'''
|  | '''What’s involved'''
|  | '''Web links'''
|  | '''Actions/progress'''
|  | '''Activity'''
|-
|  |  '''Ready now'''
|  |
|  |'''Tasks ready to to work on'''
|  |
|  |


[https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Talk:T_W_Reader_geological_photographs,_long_excursions_1914._Part_1_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive' https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Talk:T_W_Reader_geological_photographs,_long_excursions_1914._Part_1_-_index,_GA_%27Carreck_Archive%27]
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | Task 3
|  | GA Task 1
|  | Non-Johnston albums – album page links
|  | Indexing Miss MS Johnston
|  | Add the link to the 'Album page' so users can see the specific image the specific row of data in the album context.
|  | Detailed index transcription of two MS Johnston Albums
[[Talk:M.S. Johnston album 1 - index, GA 'Carreck Archive'|Instructions and discussion page]]
|  |  
|  |  
[[https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA044 Album 1]]


[https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Category:Geologists'_Association_Carreck_Archive,_indexes https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Category:Geologists%27_Association_Carreck_Archive,_indexes]  
[[https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA045 Album 2]]


| style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-left:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-right:none;padding-top:0cm;padding-bottom:0cm;padding-left:0.199cm;padding-right:0.191cm;" | Headings to be inserted.
[[M.S. Johnston album 1 - index, GA 'Carreck Archive'|Index page Album 1]]


Representative Excursion photo to be inserted
[[M.S. Johnston album 2 - index, GA 'Carreck Archive'|Index page Album 2]]


[https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Geologists'_Association_'green'_album_1_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive' https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Geologists'_Association_'green'_album_1_-_index,_GA_'Carreck_Archive']
|  | Album 1 and 2 index page ready
 
|  |'''Album 1 Ongoing'''
|-
|  | GA Task 2
|  | TW Reader - album page links
|  |  
|  |  
The task is to replace the existing text in the first column with the full link to the specific page for the listed item. This allows direct access to an album page image the particular photo is on. Users will be able to see the photo in its page context.
[[Talk:T W Reader geological photographs, long excursions 1914. Part 1 - index, GA 'Carreck Archive'|Instructions]]
|  | [[T W Reader geological photographs, long excursions 1914. Part 1 - index, GA 'Carreck Archive'|Example where a few links have been completed]]
[[Geologists' Association 'green' album 1 - index, GA 'Carreck Archive'|Example where headings have been inserted]]
[[Category:Geologists' Association Carreck Archive, indexes|List of pages]]
|  | Links to be inserted
Section headings to be inserted (Headings are Excursion name)
Representative excursion photo to be inserted
See below for full list
|  | '''Completed'''
|-
|  | GA Task 3
|  | GA Albums – album page links
|  | As Task 2 above.
|  | [[Geologists' Association 'green' album 1 - index, GA 'Carreck Archive'|Example where a few links have been completed]]
| | As Task 2 above. (Headings are geological subjects or other)
See below for full list
|  | '''Completed'''
|-
|-
|  | Task 4
|  | GA Task 4
|  | Elsie Giles transcription
|  | Elsie Giles transcription
|  | Elsie Giles photo albums lack captions in the albums. The notebook listings could be transcribed and then linked to the listing entries of exact page in the album
|  | Elsie Giles photo albums lack captions in the albums. The notebook listings could be transcribed and then linked to the listing entries of exact page in the album
|  | Elsie Giles notebook (personal)
|  | [https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA151 Elsie Giles notebook (personal)]


[https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA151 https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA151]
[https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA152 Elsie Giles notebook (other photographers)]


Elsie Giles notebook (other photographers)
|  | Save the file that was sent to you onto your PC


[https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA152 http://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA152]
Open https://194.66.252.183:81/Textbase_Editor/


| | Check pre-existing row data.
File/Open html file - open the file that was sent


Transcribe caption.
[https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA147 View Elsie Giles Album]


Enhance caption where appropriate
[https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA151 View the Elsie Giles Notebook in separate tab]


Add link to Album pages
Add row data for each photograph


Insert headings
Save the file occasionally - it is ALWAYS saved to your 'Downloads folder' Don't forget to backup your work!
 
|  | '''Ongoing'''
|-
|  | BGS Task 1
|  | Textbase document preparation
|  | BGS are extracting the text from paper publications and placing in a text database. The resulting text will be closely integrated with the digital geological map and 3D models so both can be consulted together
|  | This [https://194.66.252.183:81/TextMiningDemo/ demonstrator]  shows this in action for three sample volumes
| | Documents are geological reports on 1:10,000 mapping areas. Local geology. Optical character recognition errors to be corrected. Document structure to be added.
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
| style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-left:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-right:none;padding-top:0cm;padding-bottom:0cm;padding-left:0.199cm;padding-right:0.191cm;" | Task 5
| | GA Task 5
|  | Excursion pages
|  | Excursion pages
|  | Create a series of articles based around individual field excursions. See next column for link to a sample excursion article.  
|  | Create a series of articles based around individual field excursions. See next column for link to a sample excursion article.  
|  | [https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Motor_excursion_in_Surrey.—Saturday._June_6th,_1914_-_Geologists'_Association_excursion https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Motor_excursion_in_Surrey.%E2%80%94Saturday._June_6th,_1914_-_Geologists%27_Association_excursion]
|  | [[Motor excursion in Surrey.—Saturday. June 6th, 1914 - Geologists' Association excursion|Motor_excursion_in_Surrey, Saturday June_6th, 1914]]
| style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-left:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-right:none;padding-top:0cm;padding-bottom:0cm;padding-left:0.199cm;padding-right:0.191cm;" | Start with brief details, image galleries, info on the geology from the write ups in PGA. When the Circulars become available (Post Covid-19) Scan for image and extracted text. Key Circulars could be fast-tracked once access is possible prior to a major systematic scanning programme.  
| | Start with brief details, image galleries, info on the geology from the write ups in PGA. When the Circulars become available (Post Covid-19) Scan for image and extracted text. Key Circulars could be fast-tracked once access is possible prior to a major systematic scanning programme.  
Prioritized order
Prioritized order
# excursions for which we have a circular available now.  
# excursions for which we have a circular available now.  
# excursions lacking the above but for which there is interesting material in the Johnston albums
# excursions lacking the above but for which there is interesting material in the Johnston albums
# excursions lacking the above but for which there there are lots of photos in the already indexed photos in the Reader/Brown albums
# excursions lacking the above but for which there there are lots of photos in the already indexed photos in the Reader/Brown albums
|  |  '''Ongoing'''
|-
|  | GA Task 6
|  |Excursion list by date 1960 to the present
|  |
|  | [https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Geologists%27_Association_excursions_-_list_by_date Excursion list by date]
|  | a. Complete the missing years b. Check each year against Circulars add missing entries c. Ensure entries in each year are in strict date order d. Make links to Excursion pages e. Add representative image or two for each year
|  | '''Ongoing'''
|-
|  | GA Task 14
|  | Record of excursions made between 1860 and 1890
|  | Correct the Optical character recognition (OCR)
|  |
|  | 1. Edit a MS Word file so it matches the PDF original publication. correct typos and formatting. 2. When correct each excursion will be added to Earthwise along with a transcription of the appropriate Circular for the excursion.
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
Line 151: Line 222:
|  |  
|  |  
|  |  
|  |  
|  |
|  |
|-
|  | Task 6
|  | Field Trip Index
|  | Excel Spread sheet listing individual Field Trips. This could be added as a resource to Earthwise and links made to Album photographs and PGA, GA Circular accounts
|  |
|  | Prepare suitable format – possibly a table with thumbnail photos linking to full page entries
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | Task 7
|  | GA Task 7
|  | Specific transcriptions
|  | Specific transcriptions
|  | Letters, postcards and prose – there are a number of letters, postcards and prose in the MS Johnston Albums – these could be transcribed
|  | Letters, postcards and prose – there are a number of letters, postcards and prose in the MS Johnston Albums – these could be transcribed
Line 167: Line 231:
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | Task 8
|  | GA Task 8
|  | People, places and stories
|  | People, places and stories
|  | There are a number of people and places that feature regularly in the Archive. This task could highlight these developing biographies and connections within and outside the Archive
|  | There are a number of people and places that feature regularly in the Archive. This task could highlight these developing biographies and connections within and outside the Archive
Line 174: Line 238:
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | Task 9
|  | GA Task 9
|  | Role of Women in the GA
|  | Role of Women in the GA
|  | Women have had a pivotal role in the GA since its formation in 1858 – there’s a story to be told here
|  | Women have had a pivotal role in the GA since its formation in 1858 – there’s a story to be told here
|  |  
|  | [https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA044#v=d&z=2&n=5&i=GA044_024.jp2&y=415&x=411 Page of signatures of women members of the GA, also the following page]
|  | 1. A general article on the role of women in the GA.
|  | 1. A general article on the role of women in the GA.


Line 183: Line 247:
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | Task 10
|  | GA Task 10
|  | Sites past and present
|  | Sites past and present
|  | Track the change of a site through the Archive and bring up to date with contemporary photographs
|  | Track the change of a site through the Archive and bring up to date with contemporary photographs
Line 190: Line 254:
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | Task 11
|  | GA Task 11
|  | New ideas
|  | New ideas
|  | As the project develops and volunteers become familiar with the archive encourage participants to develop new ideas
|  | As the project develops and volunteers become familiar with the archive encourage participants to develop new ideas
Line 197: Line 261:
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | Task 12
|  | GA Task 12
|  | Archive Volunteer Forum
|  | Archive Volunteer Forum
|  | We’ll need a forum to share what we’re doing, ask questions and seek help on things we see but don’t understand and so on
|  | We’ll need a forum to share what we’re doing, ask questions and seek help on things we see but don’t understand and so on
Line 204: Line 268:
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
|  | '''BGS projects'''
|  | GA Task 13
|  |  
|  | Reader and GA indexes — add a representative image for each excursion
|  | '''There are a number of other BGS projects with the potential to share volunteers'''
|  | View the album pages for each excursion. Select an interesting image (with people in?) from each, download the image from Geoscenic, Upload the image to Earthwise and add an image link to the page.
|  |
|  |  
|  |  
|  | [[Category:Geologists' Association Carreck Archive]] All albums excluding Giles and Johnston volumes
|  |  
|  |  
|-
|-
| style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-left:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-right:none;padding-top:0cm;padding-bottom:0cm;padding-left:0.199cm;padding-right:0.191cm;" |  
| | BGS Task 2
|  | Textbase document preparation
|  | BGS Dinner Books
|  | BGS are extracting the text from paper publications and placing in a text database. The resulting text will be closely integrated with the digital geological map and 3D models so both can be consulted together
|  | [[The Royal Hammerers and The Grizzly Bears - the dining clubs of the early Geological Survey]]. A long tradition of the Geological Survey were geologists' dining clubs. For a large part of the Survey history the Survey was quite small and each year they got together in a dining club, one in London called 'The Royal Hammerers' and one in Edinburgh called 'The Grizzly Bears'
|  | The demonstrator shows this in action for three sample volumes
|  | [[Songs of the Survey - Appendix to Down to earth|A few songs can be viewed here]]


[https://194.66.252.183:81/TextMiningDemo/ http://194.66.252.183:81/TextMiningDemo/]
Members of staff of the Survey were often members of the GA too. [https://pubs.bgs.ac.uk/publications.html?pubID=GA044#v=d&z=2&n=5&i=GA044_026.jp2&y=384&x=402 Here is a page of signatures of former Survey staff from the Johnston volumes.]


 
| | The task is to transcribe the manuscript songs and convert ones already transcribed onto Earthwise
 
|  |
| style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-left:0.5pt solid #00000a;border-right:none;padding-top:0cm;padding-bottom:0cm;padding-left:0.199cm;padding-right:0.191cm;" | Documents are geological reports on 1:10,000 mapping areas. Local geology. Optical character recogntion errors to be corrected. Document structure to be added.
|  |  
|-
|-
|}
|}


The first two GA volunteer projects on Earthwise are:
[[Category:Geologists' Association Carreck Archive]]
 
=== Indexing the M.S. Johnston albums ===
These 'scapbook' type albums are a great GA historical treasure full of photographs, signatures, letters, postcards, newspaper cuttings and other ephemera that represent her own private record of field meetings she had attended between 1890 and 1937.
 
 
=== Transcribing the Elsie Giles photograph collection ===
The first three volumes are assumed to be photographs by Giles, while a fourth volume contains photographs from other individual photographers, many of whom were members the Geologists’ Association. Little is know about Elsie Giles - this in itself offers a volunteer to track down information about her.
 
== Future projects ==
 
A range of topics could form the basis for future projects. Suggested ideas so far include:
 
=== Individual field trip articles ===
Researching individual field trips and drawing images from across the archives  and text from the GA "Circulars" which announced each field trip and included interesting logistical information from the time and the field trip reports that were published in the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. There may also be specimens collected on the esxcursions in the major UK collections e.g. at the British Geological Survey, Natural History Museum and the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.
 
=== Biographies of notable historical GA members ===
Biographical information on early notable members of the GA can be written and illustrated with portraits, sample signatures or other items in the archive, lists of their publications and obituaries can be created to allow researchers ready access to the literature about a person.
 
=== The role of women in the GA ===
 
Unlike the Geological Society of London (established in 1807 to cater for the needs of professional geologists), where women were not admitted to membership until 1919, ‘Ladies’ were eligible for membership of the Association from its formation in 1858. As such, the archive is a popular source for information on professional and amateur women geologists. There is a story here to tell.
 
Once volunteers become familiar with the collection they will be able to suggest, make and develop topics.

Latest revision as of 11:58, 4 October 2022

The Geologists' Association

In August 1858, a letter appeared in the magazine The Geologist proposing the formation of ‘an Association of Amateur Geologists’ so that ‘solitary’ students of the science could form a society where they ‘could compare notes, give an account of our rambles, examine one another’s fossils and minerals and … be of great assistance to one another.’ As a result, an initial meeting by interested parties was held in London on 29 November 1858, to discuss the establishment of such a society. The name ‘The Geologists’ Association’ was formally adopted at a meeting of the organising committee on 17 December 1858, and a ‘Prospectus’ was circulated with The Geologist of January 1859. The first Ordinary Meeting, held on 11 January 1859, was attended by some 200 persons and the first Annual General Meeting took place on 2 January 1860. In the formation of the Association, particular emphasis was placed on the holding of ‘Excursions or Field Meetings.’ These, together with a regular programme of lectures (a list of which can be viewed here) and an annual exhibition, have remained the ‘backbone of the Association’ since. Another early objective of the Association was the formation of Local Groups, in order to advance the interests of the Association, initially in the home counties, both for the benefits of members and to liaise with other ‘Field-clubs and Societies.’ With the passage of time, our Local groups have since spread across the country.

Lodore (new style)

A poetic view of what GA excursions were all about — has anything changed today?!

LODORE (NEW STYLE)

[" One of the visits of the Geologists' Association this year will be to Lodore."— Westminster Gazette.]

HERE they come chattering,

And there they go battering;

Here chopping and chipping

(Excuse for cheap tripping),

Geologists throng and hurry along.

Now raising a clamour,
Now wielding a hammer,

Lodore's basal braccia they revel among.

Flirting and flitting,
Volcanic rocks splitting;
Spouting and frisking,
Their precious lives risking
With climb and with bound;
Collecting, disjecting
The stones from the mound.
Tugging and toiling,
And ruthlessly spoiling
Fragments of andesite lying around.
And rocking and shocking,
And skipping and slipping,
And wrangling and jangling,
And shaking and breaking,
And hopping and dropping,
And heaving and cleaving,
And smashing and crashing,
And striving and driving and riving,
And jumbling and rumbling and tumbling,
And clattering and battering and shattering,

And prying and trying and spying and buying,

And meeting and greeting and eating and treating,

And jamming and cramming and dramming and—dashing

(The genuine scientists one in a score),

And that's how geologists go to Lodore.

The Geologists’ Association Carreck Archive

The GA Carreck Archive provides an unrivalled record of the Geologists’ Association from its earliest days to the present.

Dedicated to Marjorie Carreck (GA Archivist from 1955 to 2010) the Carreck Archive comprises a mix of albums, loose photographs, letters, postcards and associated ephemera. It particularly brings to life the field excursions of the GA; the places visited and the people visiting them. It is this mix of geological record and social history that makes the Carreck Archive unique. The Archive has undergone a complete restoration (funded by the GA Curry Fund) and is now housed with the British Geological Survey in Keyworth. The Archive is being digitised by the BGS and a number of albums are now available to view on the BGS Earthwise website.

We currently need volunteers to help document and index the archive on-line. It’s a straight forward task, all you need is access to the internet. It’s an opportunity to get to know the archive and contribute to its indexing creating a resource that will be available for everyone to use.

If you’re interested in volunteering, would like to make a donation to the archive, or simply have any questions about what’s in the archive then please do get in touch: archive@geologistsassociation.org.uk

Jonathan Larwood, GA Archivist

Further reading

Larwood, J.G., 2014. New life for historic geology archive. Earth Heritage, 42, 19-20.

Larwood, J.G., 2016. Geotourism: an early photographic insight through the lens of the Geologists’ Association. In: Hose, T.A. (ed.), Appreciating Physical Landscapes: Three Hundred Years of Geotourism, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 117-129.

Volunteer tasks

GA/BGS tasks Task What’s involved Web links Actions/progress Activity
Ready now Tasks ready to to work on
GA Task 1 Indexing Miss MS Johnston Detailed index transcription of two MS Johnston Albums

Instructions and discussion page

[Album 1]

[Album 2]

Index page Album 1

Index page Album 2

Album 1 and 2 index page ready Album 1 Ongoing
GA Task 2 TW Reader - album page links

The task is to replace the existing text in the first column with the full link to the specific page for the listed item. This allows direct access to an album page image the particular photo is on. Users will be able to see the photo in its page context.

Instructions

Example where a few links have been completed

Example where headings have been inserted

Links to be inserted

Section headings to be inserted (Headings are Excursion name)

Representative excursion photo to be inserted

See below for full list

Completed
GA Task 3 GA Albums – album page links As Task 2 above. Example where a few links have been completed As Task 2 above. (Headings are geological subjects or other)

See below for full list

Completed
GA Task 4 Elsie Giles transcription Elsie Giles photo albums lack captions in the albums. The notebook listings could be transcribed and then linked to the listing entries of exact page in the album Elsie Giles notebook (personal)

Elsie Giles notebook (other photographers)

Save the file that was sent to you onto your PC

Open https://194.66.252.183:81/Textbase_Editor/

File/Open html file - open the file that was sent

View Elsie Giles Album

View the Elsie Giles Notebook in separate tab

Add row data for each photograph

Save the file occasionally - it is ALWAYS saved to your 'Downloads folder' Don't forget to backup your work!

Ongoing
BGS Task 1 Textbase document preparation BGS are extracting the text from paper publications and placing in a text database. The resulting text will be closely integrated with the digital geological map and 3D models so both can be consulted together This demonstrator shows this in action for three sample volumes Documents are geological reports on 1:10,000 mapping areas. Local geology. Optical character recognition errors to be corrected. Document structure to be added.
GA Task 5 Excursion pages Create a series of articles based around individual field excursions. See next column for link to a sample excursion article. Motor_excursion_in_Surrey, Saturday June_6th, 1914 Start with brief details, image galleries, info on the geology from the write ups in PGA. When the Circulars become available (Post Covid-19) Scan for image and extracted text. Key Circulars could be fast-tracked once access is possible prior to a major systematic scanning programme.

Prioritized order

  1. excursions for which we have a circular available now.
  2. excursions lacking the above but for which there is interesting material in the Johnston albums
  3. excursions lacking the above but for which there there are lots of photos in the already indexed photos in the Reader/Brown albums
Ongoing
GA Task 6 Excursion list by date 1960 to the present Excursion list by date a. Complete the missing years b. Check each year against Circulars add missing entries c. Ensure entries in each year are in strict date order d. Make links to Excursion pages e. Add representative image or two for each year Ongoing
GA Task 14 Record of excursions made between 1860 and 1890 Correct the Optical character recognition (OCR) 1. Edit a MS Word file so it matches the PDF original publication. correct typos and formatting. 2. When correct each excursion will be added to Earthwise along with a transcription of the appropriate Circular for the excursion.
Planned Concept and task not yet fully developed
GA Task 7 Specific transcriptions Letters, postcards and prose – there are a number of letters, postcards and prose in the MS Johnston Albums – these could be transcribed Agree format and identify transcriptions – could be selective, link to specific people or general.
GA Task 8 People, places and stories There are a number of people and places that feature regularly in the Archive. This task could highlight these developing biographies and connections within and outside the Archive Need to develop this idea more fully
GA Task 9 Role of Women in the GA Women have had a pivotal role in the GA since its formation in 1858 – there’s a story to be told here Page of signatures of women members of the GA, also the following page 1. A general article on the role of women in the GA.

2. Articles on individual women members

GA Task 10 Sites past and present Track the change of a site through the Archive and bring up to date with contemporary photographs Need to develop idea – valuable as it potentially adds new images and demonstrates how places and sections are lost and changed
GA Task 11 New ideas As the project develops and volunteers become familiar with the archive encourage participants to develop new ideas
GA Task 12 Archive Volunteer Forum We’ll need a forum to share what we’re doing, ask questions and seek help on things we see but don’t understand and so on Explore setting up a forum with the GA (JL)
GA Task 13 Reader and GA indexes — add a representative image for each excursion View the album pages for each excursion. Select an interesting image (with people in?) from each, download the image from Geoscenic, Upload the image to Earthwise and add an image link to the page. All albums excluding Giles and Johnston volumes
BGS Task 2 BGS Dinner Books The Royal Hammerers and The Grizzly Bears - the dining clubs of the early Geological Survey. A long tradition of the Geological Survey were geologists' dining clubs. For a large part of the Survey history the Survey was quite small and each year they got together in a dining club, one in London called 'The Royal Hammerers' and one in Edinburgh called 'The Grizzly Bears' A few songs can be viewed here

Members of staff of the Survey were often members of the GA too. Here is a page of signatures of former Survey staff from the Johnston volumes.

The task is to transcribe the manuscript songs and convert ones already transcribed onto Earthwise