E-mails to an Editor: Safeguarding the Literary Correspondence of the Twenty-First Century at The University of Manchester Library

Abstract

The University of Manchester Library's outstanding Special Collections contain literary correspondence spanning over 250 years. The most significant modern literary archive is that of premier poetry publishers Carcanet Press, whose correspondence is now largely digital in nature. The Library's Carcanet Press E-mail Preservation Project (2012–14) addressed the urgent need to acquire and safeguard this internationally significant digital archive for the future. The project resulted in the successful rescue and preservation of 215,000 e-mails and 65,000 attachments generated by Carcanet Press. It has also ensured that the Library is equipped to deal with regular accruals to the archive in the future. The project's work was recognized in 2014, when it received the Digital Preservation Coalition's prestigious biennial award for “Safeguarding the Digital Legacy.” This case study explores some of the challenges and opportunities involved in acquiring and preserving e-mail archives such as this one, addressing issues of acquisition, appraisal, format migration, authenticity, access—via traditional finding aids and newer technologies such as data visualization—and use. Its relevance goes far beyond the literary: this area is of fundamental importance to Special Collections in the digital age if they are to continue representing the fruits of society's endeavor across all subject areas.

KEYWORDS:

• digital preservation
• e-mail archives
• literary archives
• literary correspondence
• publishers' archives
• special collections
• university libraries