Two of Jersey’s biggest heritage organisations have joined forces to make it easier than ever for people to carry out online research about the Island’s history
The archive and museum collections cared for by Jersey Heritage and the photographic and library collections cared for by the Société Jersiaise have merged and can now be viewed together on our catalogue site.
Linda Romeril, Director of Archives & Collections at Jersey Heritage, said: “The joint online catalogue is the culmination of a number of years of work with the Société Jersiaise to find a way to merge our catalogues and provide a single point of access to the Island’s archive, library, museum and photographic collections. Researchers can now search across the collections of both heritage organisations, allowing them to see documents and photographs that were previously held in different places. Linking up the resources available makes them more accessible to the public, whether they are carrying out research about their family history or on a professional basis.”
Since 2015, staff and volunteers at Jersey Archive have been digitising and indexing a number of popular collections, such as the parish church baptism, marriage and burial records and wills that date back to the 17th century. Online material also includes the Jersey Evening Post Photo Archive. With the addition of the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive and Library catalogues, there are now over 800,000 descriptions online of items held across the collections, many of which have images attached.
Patrick Cahill, Archivist at the Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive, said: “The new shared online catalogue is great for users and demonstrates the benefits of taking a collaborative approach to cultural heritage in Jersey. For us, this is just a starting point as our mission is to keep improving services and bringing value to our community.”
Valérie Noël, Librarian at the Société Jersiaise, added: “The joint online catalogue will allow a wider public to discover the collections of the Lord Coutanche Library, which supports the work of the Société Jersiaise by collecting and preserving material relating to Jersey’s history, prehistory, natural environment and language. The Library’s catalogue contains, among other things, publications in English and French, maps, prints, manuscripts and archives.”
Search examples:
Gigoulande Mill
An online search of the catalogue for ‘Gigoulande Mill’ now brings up documents relating to the requisitioning of the mill during the Occupation from Jersey Archive; images of the Mill taken in 1938 from the Jersey Evening Post photographic collection; and images of archaeological excavations at the Mill in the 1990s from the Société Jersiaise photographic collection.
Philip Morel Laurens
When a search is carried out for ‘Philip Morel Laurens’, the catalogue will bring together his Occupation Registration Card, his will and the record of his marriage from the Archive, as well as a photograph of Philip on a bicycle taken in 1906, which is part of the Société Jersiaise Photo Archive.