Our new online catalogue launched last week. This is the place where you can find descriptions of over 360,000 items in our collections.
We have been working with the team behind Epexio Discover to deliver a modern archival discovery platform which makes it easier for you to find what you are looking for within Dorset’s archives.
More dynamic searching…
The new catalogue offers a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. You can now sort and filter your results at the click of a button. Keywords from across the hierarchy of a collection can be picked up by a search. This means you don’t have to worry about how the archive catalogue is structured.
Once you have found things of interest you can save them using the ‘Add to saved records’ button on the left–hand menu, and later email the list to yourself or to us along with your enquiry.
Fancy a browse…
Perhaps you’re not sure what you’re looking for? What if you just want to get a feel for the types of material he hold relating to a general theme?
By looking at the ‘Browse Collections‘ menu, you will be able to get a feel for the types of material we hold, and what collections might be useful for your searches.
See and hear archives online…
It is now possible to access a digital version of a small number of records via the online catalogue. You can easily see if there is something relevant to your search by using the ‘Digital version available’ filter on the left–hand side of the page. Oral history recordings from the LGBTQ+ Speakout project are available in this way.
Whilst we will never be able to digitise the majority of our collections, in the future we intend to expand this offer by including more digital copies of our physical records alongside born-digital archives.
Explore key collections…
We have told you before about some of our major projects. Like the project to catalogue the Dame Elisabeth Frink archive. Or the Herrison Hospital project. Or the Unlocking the Bankes project. Or the campaign to save Herbert’s photographic archive.
Well now you can explore these specific collections in our ‘Featured Collections‘ page, which offers some background about the collection itself, and a link to each catalogue for you to explore!
Future plans…
We continue to work on developing the online catalogue. Future plans include enhancing place-based searching, launching online exhibitions as well as the ongoing improvement of our catalogue data.
Give us your feedback…
We would love to know what you think of our new catalogue? What works well for you? What issues have you encountered? Have you been able to find something you didn’t know about before? Let us know in the comments below!