IM BLOG: Losing The Wonder: How Digitisation Transforms the Archival Experience

The digitisation debate in archives often focuses on preservation benefits, accessibility gains, and cost efficiencies. But there's a crucial dimension that deserves more attention: the profound emotional impact that handling original documents has on users and what we lose when we shift to digital-only approaches.

Recent controversies, such as the UK Ministry of Justice's proposal to destroy original documents in favour of digital copies, have highlighted the technical arguments for preserving originals as a fail-safe measure. However, these discussions rarely explore what matters most: the user experience. After all, who do we preserve archives for if not our users?

Research conducted at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre reveals that the emotional connection users form with original documents represents a significant and irreplaceable aspect of historical research. Through audio-recorded interviews with 50 visitors handling both original documents and digital copies, fascinating patterns emerge that challenge us to reconsider the full impact of our digitisation strategies.

The study examined three carefully selected documents: an eighteenth-century will (representing the genealogical research that dominates many archive visits), a rolled 1841 tithe map (providing an element of physical discovery), and a letter from Elizabeth I complete with wax seals and embedded fabric (chosen specifically for its potential to provoke emotional responses). Each document had been digitised and made available online, with originals no longer routinely produced for researchers.

The Numinous Experience: When History Comes Alive

The concept of "numinous" – originally describing transcendent religious experiences – proves remarkably applicable to archives. In this context, it describes visitors who "desire to transcend the present and engage with the past in a highly personal way." The research identified four distinct emotional themes that emerged exclusively when participants handled original documents:

Wonderment appeared as the most significant response – that profound feeling of importance mixed with curiosity and intellectual exploration. This emotion drives the "what if?" questions that fuel deeper research and encourage return visits to archives. Participants consistently expressed surprise at their own reactions to holding centuries-old documents.

Fascination manifested as complete absorption in the physical object. One participant became so captivated by Elizabeth I's letter that they forgot entirely about examining the digital version, remarking: "I felt some emotion. Very much so, to the extent that I didn't even think until you said that I had to look at the screen, I wouldn't have. It's quite amazing."

Empathy proved the least common response, appearing in only three participants. This might reflect the lack of personal family connections to the selected documents, suggesting that emotional attachment intensifies when users research their own ancestry or local history.

Spatiotemporal connection emerged as perhaps the most powerful theme, with participants describing feeling transported across time. The most striking example came from someone handling Elizabeth I's letter: "I got this thing, this feeling, oh my God, you know, Elizabeth I... Elizabeth the 1st would have been sat here looking at exactly this and I also got a bit of a feeling of presence. A sense of history."

Crucially, participants only expressed these numinous emotions when handling original documents – never while viewing digital copies.

The Irreplaceable Physical Dimension

Digital reproduction, no matter how sophisticated, cannot capture certain intrinsic qualities of original documents. The research highlighted numerous "object-ness" qualities that simply don't transfer to screens:

• Texture and structure: The feel of aged paper, the roughness of handmade materials
• Three-dimensional elements: Wax seals, embedded fabrics, raised text from early printing
• Sensory details: The faint scent of old paper, the weight of documents
• Physical manipulation: How documents were folded, bound, or sealed
• Discovery elements: The act of carefully unrolling a map or turning fragile pages

One participant noted while examining Elizabeth I's wax seals: "I spent a bit more time looking at the seals, as they are 3D. You don't really get anything from the screen." These observations become particularly important when considering what aspects of our collections we might be inadvertently losing through digital-only policies.

Understanding Different User Approaches

The research revealed that users don't all seek the same experience from archival materials, identifying three distinct approaches that have important implications for service delivery:

• Information-seekers (30% of participants) preferred digital copies and showed no interest in emotional connections. Their focus remained purely pragmatic: extracting factual content efficiently. As one noted: "Some people will say that it's lovely to handle and all this, that, and the other. But from the point of view of getting the content information, the digital is perfectly acceptable."
• Holistic-seekers (15% of participants) wanted both experiences, viewing emotional and informational dimensions as equally important. This group recognised that different research questions might benefit from different approaches.
• Experience-seekers formed the remaining majority, consistently preferring original documents and describing profound emotional responses that enhanced their understanding and connection to the past.

The Artist's Perspective: Inspiration Through Physicality

One particularly illuminating case involved an artist visiting the archives for creative inspiration. She requested permission to sketch while examining documents, creating small drawings that captured details invisible in digital copies. Her approach highlighted how physical interaction with documents can serve purposes beyond traditional historical research.

"For me, as an artist, I'm interested in the physicality of the object, handling the original. I could miss something with the digital," she explained. Her sketches demonstrated how tactile engagement with documents can reveal details and inspire creative responses that digital viewing cannot replicate.

Balancing Preservation and Experience

This research doesn't argue against digitisation – the benefits are undeniable. Digital copies provide unprecedented access, appearing on websites like Ancestry.co.uk and local history portals, reaching global audiences who could never visit physical archives. Digitisation also protects originals from excessive handling, significantly reducing wear and tear on heavily-used collections.

Several participants acknowledged this balance: "I feel it's important to see and to be able to handle the originals. But maybe digital has a place alongside that because maybe it prevents overhandling of the originals."

The key insight is recognising that digitisation and original document access serve different but complementary purposes. While digital copies excel at delivering information efficiently and safely, original documents provide irreplaceable emotional and sensory experiences that deepen understanding and connection to the past.

Implications for Information Management Strategy

For records and information management professionals, this research offers crucial insights for developing balanced digitisation strategies. The emotional dimension of document interaction represents a significant user need that purely digital approaches cannot fulfill. Understanding different user types – information-seekers, experience-seekers, and holistic-seekers – can inform service delivery models that optimise both preservation and user satisfaction.

When considering digital-only policies, we must factor in not just technical and economic considerations, but also the profound human dimension of historical research. The "wonder" that users experience when handling original documents isn't merely sentimental – it's a powerful driver of curiosity, learning, and continued engagement with our collections.

The challenge for our profession lies in developing strategies that harness the accessibility and preservation benefits of digitisation while preserving opportunities for the transformative experiences that only original documents can provide.

Meet your blog author:

 

Ian Hicks

Ian Hicks is the Collections Manager for the Archives and Local Studies at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham.