1. The Union Makes Us Strong: creating an online resource for adult learners Christine Coates, Librarian TUC Collections Learning Centre, London Metropolitan University, 236 Holloway Road, London N7 6PP Tel: 020 7133 3726 Email: tuclib@londonmet.ac.uk

2. History websites at www.unionhistory.info

3. TUC Library Collections Founded by the Trades Union Congress in 1922 and moved to London Metropolitan University 1996

4. Digitisation programme to disclose the collection to create surrogate copies to aid conservation by reducing the need for handling to democratise access to rare or unique archives for people who would previously never have entered record offices or academic libraries to create an easily accessible online library of resources for the study of labour movement history.

5. Identifying our target audience TUC – Unionlearn –In 2010, 57,163 union reps + 908 full time union officers on training courses –1999-2010, 26,040 union learning reps on courses Workers’Educational Association Trade Union Studies at London Metropolitan University and elsewhere

6. Aims for the target audience attract union representatives returning to education for the first time since school, with perhaps little knowledge of computers, to this site because they see the relevance of the subject matter to their own work/life experience encourage them to explore other web resources and to extend their use of IT in general awaken an interest in social and labour history in other lifelong learners

7. Use of primary sources in union education in support of course-books and materials – using images / multi-media can be more engaging for students researching primary sources can provide ‘added value’ to students –interpretation of photos, cartoons,etc –documents show how contemporary perceptions of a situation guided subsequent actions –personal papers, such as letters and diaries, show an individual’s motivation –examining issues of bias dis-aggregation to create new resources as organisational tools

14. The websites include complete digitised documents such as this 1888 Match Workers’ strike register

20. Video history on the website

21. Educational packs

23. Britain at Work : voices from the workplace 1945-1995 Website design –a rolling programme Initial funding from Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust and HEFCE First project ran July 2011 – January 2012 and launched February 1, 2012 Partners for the first stage – TUC / HISTORYtalk / Bishopsgate Institute

24. Website content 11 video interviews with union leaders and politicians 26 audio interviews with union members / activists 474 digitised images of posters photos and documents Timeline narratives for the period 7 background essays by industrial relations experts on key themes

32. Digital archiving policy Electronic set of all content held on separate university server Content held on Gold Archive Grade CDs/DVDs in University store and at TUC, Congress House 6 monthly checks on discs for physical condition and quality of data Migration to new CD after c.5 years

33. Key issues Funding is limited and intermittent Target audience has mixed IT skills Staffing and IT skills limited – sustainability issues Website receives 18-20,000 visits per month Popular with target audience Modular structure allows components to be added as funding becomes available Simple website design, easy to navigate Database easy to use – Ke staff always helpful!