Seniors help make history accessible to everyone
Published: Tuesday, Aug 27th 2024, 16:10
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Since spring 2023, members of the University of Neuchâtel Senior Citizens have been transcribing historical documents into modern times. Thanks to this help, the city of Neuchâtel is the first in Switzerland to make the detailed history of its cultural institutions freely available to the public (open access).
"After familiarizing themselves with the writings of the time, the seniors worked from their computers on manuscripts - which are not always easy to decipher - mainly from the archives of the city and canton of Neuchâtel," the University of Neuchâtel (UniNE) announced on Tuesday. These sources shed light on the creation of the public library and the first Neuchâtel museums, such as the Natural History Museum founded in 1838.
The seniors' participatory approach is part of the research project "Libraries and museums in Switzerland between the 18th and 19th centuries: a parallel history", which is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Under the direction of Professor Valérie Kobi from the UniNE, the project is investigating how collections of objects in public libraries gradually evolved into municipal museums.
The libraries of the Ancien Régime were not limited to collecting books, but also housed collections of all kinds, including medals, exotic coins and scientific instruments. After the French Revolution, these "cabinets of curiosities" gradually left the libraries and many were given the status of museums.
The first part of the project will be published online on the hallerNet platform this fall. A few hundred Word pages will initially cover the period 1786-1835.
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