Alnmouth History Project
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Project Methodology

One of the objectives of the Alnmouth History Project is to produce a template for use by other geographical organisations wishing to digitise and publish their own local history collections. This page documents our approach.

1. Identifying and Collecting Source Material

Begin by surveying known and potential sources of historical material within your geographic scope. Sources may include:

  • Community halls, libraries, and museums
  • Parish councils and local government archives
  • Sports clubs, churches, and voluntary organisations
  • County archives and record offices
  • Individual residents and families
  • Universities and historical societies

Document each source with its nature, estimated volume of materials, and the contact person. Establish whether materials will be donated, loaned, or accessed in situ for digitisation.

2. Digitisation

For hard-copy materials, establish a digitisation workflow:

Input Formats

Accept text documents and photographs up to A4 for scanning. Larger items may be photographed. Accept digital files in standard formats from donors.

Output Formats

Text: ODF, PDF
Images: JPEG, TIFF
Video: MP4
Audio: MP3

3. Cataloguing and Metadata

Each item should be catalogued using internationally recognised standards. We use:

  • Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) — 15 core elements for describing any resource (title, creator, date, type, format, subject, etc.)
  • ISAD(G) — General International Standard Archival Description for hierarchical arrangement (fonds, series, item)
  • Schema.org — JSON-LD structured data for search engine discoverability

In addition, record the following attributes as defined in the Project Definition:

Required Attributes

  • Location: Where the original item is stored, and where hard copies are held
  • What3words: Precise location reference
  • Date: When the item was created (e.g. photograph taken)
  • People: Surname (at birth), first name, year of birth/death, other names
  • Events: Category (e.g. weddings, shows)
  • Keywords: Descriptive terms for discovery
  • Donor: Organisation, folder, sub-folder hierarchy

4. Website Publication

Publish the catalogued items on a public website with the following capabilities:

  • Full-text search across all collections
  • Faceted browsing by material type, location, and creator
  • Individual item pages with full metadata display
  • Links to related items within and between collections
  • Links to externally-held materials (e.g. county archives, English Heritage)
  • Media playback for video and audio items
  • People and events indexes
  • Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance)

5. Technology Stack

The Alnmouth History Project uses the following technology:

Framework

Next.js with static export — generates a fully static website that can be hosted on any web server or CDN.

Search

Lunr.js client-side search index built at compile time. No server-side search infrastructure required.

Hosting

Cloudflare Pages with a backup on a second cloud provider. Dedicated domain name managed by the management organisation.

6. Data Import Pipeline

Source data is imported from spreadsheets (Excel) through a configurable pipeline that:

  • Maps spreadsheet columns to Dublin Core metadata fields
  • Normalises author names and material categories
  • Extracts cross-references between items
  • Detects storage locations from notes
  • Generates JSON data files and search indexes

Each collection has its own import configuration, allowing different spreadsheet formats while producing consistent output.

7. Ongoing Management

Establish a management structure to ensure longevity:

  • Define roles and responsibilities for ongoing curation
  • Maintain hosting and domain name registration
  • Plan for archival or disposal of hard-copy originals
  • Consider revenue sources: grants, donations, sale of prints
  • Address legal considerations: copyright, personal data, permission to use

8. Legal Considerations

Address the following legal aspects for each item and collection:

Copyright

Establish copyright status and ownership. Obtain permission to reproduce and publish digital copies.

Personal Data

Consider GDPR and data protection requirements for any personal information in materials.

Permission to Use

Document permissions granted by donors and rights holders for digital reproduction and publication.

Revenue

Clarify entitlement to revenues from any sale of prints, licensing of images, or other commercial use.

Replicating This Approach

This methodology is designed to be replicable by other parish councils, local history groups, and community organisations. The technology stack is open source and the hosting costs are minimal. If you are interested in establishing a similar project for your area, please get in touch.