I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. 

- Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

About the author: Phil Virta

Phil VirtaPhil Virta has worked at Gale for more than fifteen years in various capacities, most recently as a publisher of digital primary source archives in charge of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender program (and a few others). He enjoys long walks through dusty archival collections, visiting far-flung places, and frequent woolgathering. When he doesn’t have his head in the clouds, he can be found researching new archive ideas, working on his stamp collection, watching squirrels, or planning his next tropical vacation.

I invite you to contemplate how we in Gale Primary Sources, or more specifically I, come up with ideas with the eventual goal of publishing an archive. 

As everyone works differently and has their own way of doing things, I will not put words in the mouths of my fellow editors and publishers.  Consider this to be a study of the creative process from one person’s perspective. 

One way to look at archive creation is as a series of many moving parts; there are always many different ways to accomplish a task and they can all work together to build the final product.  Yet everything begins with a single idea, that one spark of imagination that sets everything in motion.

There is a diverse toolset for starting the journey – some orthodox, some strange and unquantifiable. Before anything else, it starts as an intellectual exercise, which requires a combination of:

  • Brainstorming
  • Having a fertile imagination
  • Having a light bulb moment
  • Letting the creative juices flow
  • Letting your imagination run wild/riot
  • Thinking outside the box

The Creative Process

Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll; with 12 Full-Page Illustrations in Color from Drawings by Blanche McManus. Illustrated by Blanche McManus, M. F. Mansfield and A. Wessels, 1899You can describe the creative process in a number of different way…but a fitting one for me has always been going down the rabbit hole:

rab·bit hole - noun: rabbit hole; plural noun: rabbit holes

1. a rabbit's burrow.

2. used to refer to a bizarre, confusing, or nonsensical situation or environment, typically one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself.

 

The second use of the definition is rather negative.  In the case of the creative process, I like to think of going down the rabbit hole as a wondrous journey of exploration where one interesting topic leads to another, and one spends many happy hours exploring a warren of ideas.

 

Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. Not all those who wander are lost. And sometimes you do end up right where you needed to be. That’s the point of going down the rabbit hole. Don’t be afraid to dive in and see where it takes you.

 

Image: Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll; with 12 Full-Page Illustrations in Color from Drawings by Blanche McManus. Illustrated by Blanche McManus, M. F. Mansfield and A. Wessels, 1899. Nineteenth Century Collections Online - view the original image here.

Coming up with new ideas: how does one go about it? 

Coming up with ideas is fun. Dream big, don’t listen to the naysayers, and let your imagination run wild. Sometimes you have moments of brilliance; be certain to write them down lest they be lost. I like to come up with multiple ideas that interest me or are based off topics that inspired me. There are many ways to go about this.

  • Advisory boards
  • Analysis of what is available in our microfilm collections
  • Attending conferences or visiting archives or libraries
  • Books or articles I’ve read; radio programs I’ve listened to; interesting archival collections I’ve stumbled across
  • Daydreaming, wool-gathering, building castles in the air, staring into space
  • Ideas from archivists and librarians – getting the inside scoop from the source
  • Looking for critical mass in institutional holdings
  • Looking at university course listings and descriptions – what is being studied?
  • Market research surveys – polling librarians and faculty for opinions
  • Sheer curiosity…or plain dumb luck

While reading through various interesting headlines and stories, I stumbled across an article titled IS THE ROAD TO HEAVEN PAVED WITH BAD EXAMPLES?  CRIMINALS?  BOOK THEM!  It described the University of Michigan Clements Library’s Medler Collection which is full of “…gritty, salacious pamphlets on child-sacrifice and horrific murders, augmented by religious sermons and political tracts and "true life" detective stories.”  After reading the article, I thought it was a wonderful idea for an archive.  The original concept I plotted out was something I decide to call Crime in the Archives (somewhat tongue-in-cheek), which I happily researched and fleshed out in gory detail. 

This was the original concept pitch:

Crime in the Archives will be made up of collections of true crime literature, materials on specific criminal cases, photographs, criminal trial transcripts, and more.  It will present a broad history of crime, with an emphasis on crime in the United States, England, France, and Germany.  It will provide rich sources to users as diverse as crime historians, film documentarians, museum curators, television and radio producers, antiquarian book dealers, and faculty and students in history, American studies, women's studies, and criminal justice.  From chilling confessions and reporting on crime, to factual accounts and court proceedings, to literature based on true crime incidents, Crime in the Archives will present a broad perspective on social, legal, and political history.

From chilling confessions and reporting on crime,  factual accounts and court proceedings, to literature based on true crime incidents, Crime in the Archives will present  a broad perspective on social, legal, and political history. It will present a broad history of crime, with an emphasis on crime in the United States, England, France, and Germany. While the scope will be crime throughout history, it will have a primary focus on the 18th through 20th centuries and will include both primary and secondary sources.

Crime in the Archives will be made up of collections of:

  • True crime literature (fiction and non-fiction)

  • Materials on specific criminal cases

  • Photographs

  • Criminal trial transcripts

  • Ephemera

  • Other assorted crime-related materials    

  • Includes manuscripts, monographs, letters, diaries, documents, photos, images, transcripts.

It will provide rich sources to users as diverse as crime historians, film documentarians, museum curators, television and radio producers, antiquarian book dealers, and faculty and students in history, American studies, women's studies, and criminal justice. 

From small acorns come large oak trees, and this humble beginning started the journey towards a full archive exploring the history of crime. 

For the record, the archive we eventually released is called Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790–1920, with 2.1 million pages of trial transcripts, police and forensic reports, detective novels, newspaper accounts, true crime literature, and related ephemera.  One of our other fabulous editors was able to take my original concept, make it her own, and bring it to fruition.  I love it when a plan comes together!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

My method is to come up with an idea and then flesh it out. I write up a description of what the concept should be and then develop it through research. Some of the ideas turn out to be dead-ends, some are interesting, but require further development, and some of those ideas actually lead somewhere.

Sometimes, your idea might not make the cut.  There are plenty of reasons why seemingly good ideas don’t go anywhere: perhaps the scope was too narrow or too broad; there was not enough interest; the materials turned out not to be available.  Nevertheless, just because an idea didn’t pan out doesn’t mean it couldn’t potentially be resurrected at a later date.

“Look at the mess we’ve got ourselves into just because we invited a gringo to eat some bananas.” 

- Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

 

One of those ideas that didn’t pan out started with bananas.  I was fascinated by the history of the United Fruit Company. Not only did they grow and distribute bananas, but you could also book cruises on their Great White Fleet, sailing down to the tropics and back.  Some of the advertising images I found were inspiring, and the stories I read about the UFC enthralled me to the point where I wanted to learn even more; that was the genesis of an archive concept.

I had an idea to include the United Fruit Company Research Archive in a new collection for Nineteenth Century Collections Online along the lines of 'Mega-Corporations and Monopolies'.

 

As we can see from this map, the United Fruit Company was so powerful that it operated its own private systems for travel and communication on the island, showing how ingrained and financially powerful it became (click the images to zoom, or view the original here).

Great Britain. War Office General Staff Geographical Section, and Great Britain. War Office Intelligence Division. "Jamaica Defence Scheme Showing Road and Railway Communications, Telegraphs, Cables and Wireless, IDWO 1295E." British Library: Ministry of Defense Maps  Great Britain. War Office General Staff Geographical Section, and Great Britain. War Office Intelligence Division. "Jamaica Defence Scheme Showing Road and Railway Communications, Telegraphs, Cables and Wireless, IDWO 1295E." British Library: Ministry of Defense Maps


(Great Britain. War Office General Staff Geographical Section, and Great Britain. War Office Intelligence Division. "Jamaica Defence Scheme Showing Road and Railway Communications, Telegraphs, Cables and Wireless, IDWO 1295E." British Library: Ministry of Defense Maps, Primary Source Media, 1900-1932. Nineteenth Century Collections Online).

 
Why the United Fruit Company?  It is a fascinating study in monopolies, which is surprisingly good for studying…
 

"United Fruit Company." News Features & Internal Communications Image Collection, Primary Source Media, 1954. Associated Press Collections Online

  - “Banana Republics”

  - Development of Latin America

  - Environmental history

  - Mega-corporations and monopolies

  - Neocolonialism

  - Social and political change

  - U.S. Government involvement in Latin America

  (View the original image from Associated Press Collections Online)

 

I was engrossed in research, learning all I could about UFC and other monopolies in the early 20th century.  UFC offered a fascinating history, yet in spite of being a very interesting subject area, the archive didn't materialise for many reasons. One thing we do when putting together an archive is asking institutions about their thoughts, and we got some mixed feedback on this one:


FOR:
“We have had inquiries about the United Fruit Company. I rated this "moderate" because we have less of a business interest, but it would be of great interest to International Studies, Geography, and History.” - Macalester College

AGAINST:
“We have had students use UFC archives for thesis work, but it is a bit too narrow for general use. We don't have many courses on economic history.” - Williams College

Sometimes, your idea turns out to be a good one.  One of the joys of my role with Gale is the freedom to conceptualize and research new ideas.  On one of my wool-gathering days, a day to indulge in flittering thoughts and daydreams, I had an idea to create an archive on women’s history and culture.  I knew that women’s studies programs were gaining greater support at academic institutions.  I also knew Gale had many resources covering women’s history, from reference books and periodicals to collections on microform. 

From that seed of an idea, I wrote up a brief concept:

The “Women’s History and Culture” archive will be a series providing primary source materials that paint the ever-changing picture of women’s experiences around the world. While the time period covered will be broad, the primary focus will be on materials from the 17th through 20th centuries.


It will provide access to rich collections of archival materials, such as:
 

  • The Schlesinger Library’s (Harvard) collection of women’s studies materials, including Julia Child’s manuscript collections as well as comics like Ms. Marvel and periodicals like Bust
  • The Women’s History Archives at Smith College
  • The Harry Ransom Center (University of Texas) Special Collections on Women’s Studies
  • The Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture (Duke University)


It will provide coverage of:
 

  • The history of feminist theory and activism
  • Women artists, authors and publishers
  • Women’s education, sexuality and gender expression
  • Women in industry and the church
  • Women’s movement, girl culture and domestic culture

How do we then proceed?

"Michael Caine with Ben Kingsley." News Features & Internal Communications Image CollectionIn any venture where you wish to build an archive, it is important to find a critical mass of archival materials.  Put simply, this means discovering if there is enough material available from institutional partners to put together a cohesive and scholarly resource.  Provided you find willing partners with enough interesting material, and provided the licensing opportunities work out, this could easily form the foundation for an archive.

The research process can change the original idea. While you may start looking for a critical mass of content, your exploration might uncover something different, but just as valuable. The original idea might not have enough archival material that pass the legal negotiations to justify going ahead, but you can always modify the original idea for the archive to include what is available.

There is plenty of effort involved in archive creation.  Going back to the Women’s History and Culture idea, to build it out I performed more research, spoke with numerous archivists, librarians, and women’s studies faculty members, formed an advisory board, ran surveys, and eventually gathered enough evidence to put together a business case that the company accepted.  There is a lot of work and teamwork that goes into creating and building an archive, yet what you have at the end is something wonderful.

(Image: "Michael Caine with Ben Kingsley." News Features & Internal Communications Image Collection, Primary Source Media, 1988. Associated Press Collections Online. Michael Caine, left, portraying Sherlock Holmes, and Ben Kingsley as Dr. Watson are shown with red clown noses on the set of Sherlock and Me in London, England, February 3, 1988. The noses, not part of the movie, are worn by the actors to publicize "Comic Relief," a charity appeal to aid the world's starving.). 

The End Result: Women’s Studies Archive

Various Source Media, Women's Studies Archive

Much of history is one-sided, mainly focused on the male perspective; women’s voices are not always heard. Issues and Identities provides the opportunity to witness history from the female perspective.  Offering coverage of the 19th and 20th centuries, Issues and Identities allows for the serendipitous discovery of commonalities among a variety of archival collections.  Global in scope, the archive presents materials covering the social, political, and professional aspects of women’s lives and offers a look at the roles, experiences, and achievements of women in society.   A wide range of primary sources provide a close look at some of the pioneers of women’s history, a deep dive into the issues that have affected women, and the many contributions they have made to society.  Issues and Identities spans multiple geographic regions, providing a variety of perspectives on women’s experiences and cultural impact.

"Le Mouvement Féministe De 1895." La Ligue: Organe Belge du Droit des Femmes, 1896. Women's Studies Archive

"Le Mouvement Féministe De 1895." La Ligue: Organe Belge du Droit des Femmes, 1896. Women's Studies Archive.

"A March of Triumph." Union Labor Advocate, vol. 11, no. 10, 1910. Women's Studies Archive

"A March of Triumph." Union Labor Advocate, vol. 11, no. 10, 1910. Women's Studies Archive

"Women Are Striking (Back)." RAT, Sept 11-25, 1970, p. 10. Women's Studies Archive

"Women Are Striking (Back)." RAT, Sept 11-25, 1970, p. 10. Women's Studies Archive

It isn't just brand new ideas...

...we need to elaborate on what we already have.
 

Coming up with new ideas for established archives is fun!  It is exceedingly gratifying to develop and shape an archive program, to explore new directions, and to find complementary content that expands research opportunities.

If we look at Archives of Sexuality and Gender for example, there are always new areas to explore.  Sexuality and gender studies are popular and timely; they deal with the human condition which we are always striving to better understand.  In developing the Archives of Sexuality and Gender program, I look for new perspectives.  I research history and narratives that often do not show up in gender and sexuality studies and I seek to explore diversity, community, society, and identity around the world.

As I mentioned, sometimes you look for content that is complementary.  This is exemplified by the next part in the Archives of Sexuality and Gender program, L’Enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale de France.  As we already offer the Private Case from the British Library, a wonderful collection of erotica and “obscene” books, I thought it would only be fitting to go further and provide the biggest and best collection in France as well.  Offering scholars the ability to compare and contrast these two collections opens up many research opportunities.    

There are still many areas to develop in sexuality and gender studies, just as there are with our other archives.  There may be subject areas in our existing archives that lack coverage, or even better an area that intersects and overlaps with other archives to give researchers more options.  In working with our customers and institutional partners, performing research and surveys, and always looking for new opportunities, we continue to iterate on our archive programs as well as come up with new ones.

Vie privée et amours secrètes de Lord Byron. Vol. 1

What is L'Enfer?

L’Enfer (hell) from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is one of the most storied and sought-after private case collections. The name alone invokes visions of damnation and moral ruin should one delve into its scandalous volumes. The collection was created in the 1830s to protect and isolate works that were considered contrary to the morals of the time. As with later private cases, the entire collection was kept in a locked section of the library until now. L’Enfer actually refers to the shelfmark given to the collection. While many of the books were consigned to the collection as morally reprehensible, it is to our benefit today as they were safeguarded for posterity.

About the archive: DATE RANGE: 1531–2012  |  DOCUMENT TYPE: monographs  |  SOURCE LIBRARY: Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Image: Vie privée et amours secrètes de Lord Byron. Vol. 1 / traduit de l'anglais de John Mitford sur la 10e édition par M. F.... traducteur d'un grand nombre d'ouvrages, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15221672.