Launch of the KAS Website, 1999
The KAS website at www.kentarchaeology.org.uk is expanding.
The Society’s website now has a new section entitled ‘Research’, in which will be put up the results of members researches in all its forms.
Leland Duncan’s Notes. Following my appeal in the Newsletter almost all of Leland Duncan’s notes on Churchyard M.I.’s from around Kent have now been typed up and are being checked before being put up on the Society’s Website. A special thank you to Frank & Zena Bamping, Margaret Broomfield, Christine Pantry, Dawn Weeks and the other members of the Society that have assisted with this project.
Archaeologia Cantiana online. We are embarking on a scheme in which, first, the Contents pages of some 123 volumes of Archaeologia Cantiana are put on the Society’s website. The next stage will be to put up the Index Volumes, starting with Vol. 52, published in 1940 and a rare volume to own. This will involve the scanning of over 400 double column pages into the computer and using computer software called ‘optical character recognition’ (OCR) to produce a text, which can then be searched using a ‘search engine’ located on the website. The major job will be the checking and correcting of each page scanned and OCR’d. Would you be willing to help? If you have access to a computer, a ‘floppy disc’ and photocopied pages of the index could be posted to you for checking. The resounding success of the Leland Duncan M.I.’s has demonstrated that there are many members of the Society, who, whilst perhaps not able to undertake archaeological or historical research themselves, are willing to help in enabling the hard work of others to be prepared for the Society’s website. In this way, the whole world will benefit. All this work would be possible for you to carry out at a place, i.e. your home, and at a time and pace suitable to you. Training would be available to help you get started. If you are willing to help please contact Ted Connell.
Visual Records online. For over seven years a team of volunteers have met in the Society’s Library on Wednesday mornings to catalogue the many paintings, prints, photographic glass plates and colour slides held there. A database of over 11,000 entries has been made to date. It is proposed that a start is made to put some of them on the Society’s website. Each image is being scanned into a computer for archiving purposes. These images, greatly reduced in size in terms of computer memory, i.e. kilobytes (kb) will be put up in the form of Parish Galleries where ‘thumbnail’ sized pictures can be selected, and so enable all K.A.S. members and others to have a glimpse of the great treasure trove of visual information we have in our Library. On the second and fourth Tuesday morning of each month work on this project will be carried out in the Society’s Library using at least three computers. Training will be given. If you are willing to help please contact Ted Connell.
Visit www.kentarchaeology.org.uk now to see the Leland Duncan M.I.’s and Wills., Archaeologia Cantiana and perhaps pictures of your village church and surroundings.
