This #Take5 is brought to you from David Baldwin, Head of Special Collections at London Metropolitan University. David is sharing how he uses the Special Collections at his university – to inspire us – to make us think: What is a Special Collection? Do we have any here? How can I get involved? How might I use some aspect of the Special Collections in my Learning Development work, in my teaching, support of learning, or my research?
[A Library is More Than a Library]
In Learning Development, students are often encouraged to think critically, evaluate sources, challenge assumptions, and reflect on how knowledge is constructed. Archive material held in higher education Special Collections can provide a unique and often underused way of helping students engage critically with evidence.
At London Metropolitan University, our Special Collections span over 350 years and include the Archive of the Irish in Britain, the Trades Union Congress Library, the University Archive, and the Frederick Parker Collection. But the approach described here can be applied anywhere, with any collection.
This blog explores how Learning Developers and educators can harness archival materials to develop students’ research capabilities, strengthen research academic practice, and open wider conversations about voice, evidence, bias, and representation.
Why Archives Matter in Learning Development
Archives matter in Learning Development because they allow students to experience research rather than simply learn about it. When students work with original documents like oral histories, personal letters, or photographs, they encounter history articulated directly by the individuals and communities who experienced it – unedited and often without interpretation from a secondary author.
For Learning Developers, these archives then provide a valuable method of helping students develop:
- critical reading and source evaluation
- understanding of bias, perspective, and silence
- ethical and reflexive research practice
- confidence in engaging with complex, ambiguous material
- a sense of themselves as emerging researchers
Primary sources challenge students to engage with the complex nature of evidence. They make visible that research is not neutral, that history is partial, and that knowledge is shaped by choices about what is preserved, described, or forgotten.
This makes archives especially useful for developing academic literacies. They also reinforce key elements of Learning Development pedagogy. For example, student‑centred inquiry, active learning, curiosity, and critical questioning.
As digital technology evolves, archival materials can be re‑examined with fresh eyes and new methodologies. This invites students to expand, revise, and challenge dominant narratives, and situates research as an iterative, interpretative process – not a fixed set of answers.
Archives also support transparency and accountability in academic work. Tracing developments through historical records helps students see how ideas, policies, and disciplines change over time. They learn that scholarship is not static; it is shaped by communities, politics, institutional decisions, and lived realities.
In essence, archives offer Learning Developers a unique resource to help students practice the analytical, reflective, and ethical skills that underpin successful study in Higher Education.
Case Study: An Archive-Informed Approach to Learning
A recent workshop delivered last year by London Metropolitan University’s Special Collections illustrates how archives can support Learning Development through hands‑on, inquiry‑based activity.
Background
The Archive of the Irish in Britain holds the records of the London Irish Women’s Centre (LIWC), a community organisation established in 1986 to support Irish women facing discrimination and social exclusion. The archive contains survey data, community reports, oral histories, and photographs that document Irish Traveller experiences in London in the 1990s.
One report – Rights for Travellers (1995), compiled by LIWC housing and welfare worker Angie Birtill – used a range of qualitative methods to investigate how London boroughs supported Traveller families.
The data was complex and often inconsistent, reflecting long-standing issues in local authority record‑keeping, and was supplemented by Department of Environment statistics and first‑hand testimonies. Oral interviews and photographic documentation added the lived, human dimension often absent in official accounts.
“We move not to be strangers but because it’s our way; it’s the freedom to get up and go” – Bridget Gaffey
Practical Workshop
In October 2025, the Special Collections team delivered a practical workshop, in collaboration with the School of Social Sciences and Professions designed for students on the BSc and MSc Social Work course at London Metropolitan University.
At the heart of this workshop was the ‘Rights for Travellers’ report.
The workshop aimed to:
- introduce the use of archives as a source of research evidence
- critically explore how archival materials can challenge dominant narratives and support anti-racist, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive social work practice
- develop practical skills in interpreting and analysing archival sources
By the end of the workshop, students were able to:
- identify and interpret archival sources relevant to social work research
- critically assess the role of archives in legitimising or challenging knowledge
- apply thematic analysis to archival materials
- reflect on the ethical and methodological implications of using archives in research
The workshop welcomed over 60 students, who then divided into smaller groups to engage with archival materials, including photographs and oral history transcripts. During these breakout sessions, each group worked through the set questions (see below), discussed their ideas collaboratively, and nominated a representative to present their conclusions to the wider group.
1. Oral History Transcript: How can oral histories be used as qualitative data in social work research, and what are the limitations of relying on personal narratives?
2. Photograph: What methodological approaches can be applied to analyse photographs as historical evidence in social work research?
3. Community Report: What insights can community-produced newsletters offer about grassroots social work initiatives, and how might researchers assess their reliability and bias?
4. Cross-Source Analysis: How might using data from oral histories, photographs, and newsletters strengthen a research project on community-based social work?
5. Ethical Considerations: What ethical considerations should researchers keep in mind when using archival materials that document lived experiences, especially in marginalised communities?
The workshop concluded with a collective reflection and discussion, followed by an introduction to additional resources designed to support similar learning activities. These included guidance on accessing the Special Collections online catalogue and other digital tools that facilitate engagement with archival materials.
Developing Practical Skills
Using archives in teaching can be more than just giving students access to historical documents – it can be an opportunity to help them practice a range of core academic skills that underpin effective learning.
Our experience in Special Collections at London Met of a successful archive‑based workshop began by focusing on the skills you want students to develop rather than on the documents themselves. Whether the aim is to enhance critical reading, or deepen understanding of bias and perspective, having a clear pedagogical purpose helps shape the materials and activities you choose.
Secondly, using a mix of source types – such as oral histories, community newsletters, letters, and photographs – gives students different entry points, allowing them to compare, contrast, and notice the different ways evidence is produced.
Structured but open‑ended prompts can help students engage meaningfully with material that can sometimes feel overwhelming.
Questions such as:
“Whose voice is present or absent?”
“What tensions or contradictions do you notice?”
Working in small groups also supports collaborative interpretation; students can learn quicker that there is rarely a single correct reading and that constructing meaning is part of the research process. This shared sense‑making often leads to thought-provoking discussion and more confident analysis.
Ethical reflection is also an important part of this work, especially when archives contain accounts of marginalised or vulnerable communities. Asking students to consider issues such as representation, consent, and emotional impact helps them understand their responsibilities as emerging researchers. Students should also be encouraged to consider the limitations of archives – what is preserved, what is missing, and how these gaps influence our understanding of history and practice.
Finally, connecting the workshop back to wider academic practice – such as dissertation preparation, qualitative research assignments, or critical reflections – will help students see the relevance of their skills beyond the session.
Even when working with brief excerpts or small selections of material, archive‑based activities help students experience the complexity of evidence and the interpretive nature of research.
And, for the Special Collections team we gain greater insight into who our audience is, how they interpret archives and what we can develop to further support their learning needs.
Connecting Archives to Research Projects
For many students beginning a literature review, “research” is synonymous with published journal articles and textbooks. Yet archives can significantly enrich their understanding by offering access to voices, lived experiences and perspectives. For staff who support students – whether academics, learning developers or librarians – a valuable intervention is to help them see archives as credible and illuminating sources of evidence. Personal letters, organisational records and ephemera can all reveal how ideas and practices have evolved, encouraging students to think critically about how knowledge is formed and whose voices have shaped the dominant narratives.
Integrating archival material into a literature review can feel unfamiliar, so students may need guidance on how it fits within their methodology. Supporting them to reflect on the provenance, purpose and context of archival documents strengthens methodological transparency. Archives naturally promote critical information literacy by prompting students to question authorship or bias, and the socio‑political forces that shape what is preserved – and what is not. This, in turn, encourages a more nuanced and reflective reading of both archival and published sources.
For disciplines such as social work, where understanding historical context and marginalised perspectives is crucial, engaging with archives can be transformative. Staff can play a key role by embedding archival awareness in research skills teaching, signposting catalogues and digital collections, collaborating with archivists to demystify access, and offering examples of effective archival use in past projects. Encouraging students to approach archives ethically and reflexively – particularly when materials involve sensitive or personal content – helps them develop professional integrity alongside academic skill.
Next Steps and Resources
To support this practice, find out if your Special Collections team provides further access to archive catalogues, digital collections, and guides for using archives in research.
Workshops and hands-on activities – such as thematic analysis exercises with archival excerpts – can really help students build confidence and competence in this area.
Ultimately, becoming archive-minded is about more than mastering a research technique; it is about embracing a mindset that values diversity, challenges oppression, and seeks truth through evidence.
Top tips
1. Start Early and Signpost Often. Introduce archives during research skills sessions, not just at the dissertation stage. Early exposure helps students see them as a normal part of research.
2. Collaborate with Archivists. Archivists are more than happy to welcome and introduce you to the collections they work with. Co‑teaching or even informal conversations can help you identify relevant materials and build confidence in supporting students.
3. Normalise Archives as Evidence. Frame archival materials as important sources – just like peer‑reviewed articles. This helps students recognise their value in literature reviews and contextual analysis.
4. Use Examples to Inspire Students. Share past dissertations or research projects that drew effectively on archives. Seeing how others have done it makes the idea more tangible and less intimidating.
5. Encourage Critical and Ethical Reflection. Guide students to think about authorship, power, missing voices, and the ethical use of sensitive material. Archives are perfect for developing critical information literacy.
6. Highlight Digital Archives Too. Students often assume archives are only physical. Show them digitised collections, online catalogues, and digital exhibits – easy entry points for beginners.
References
Birtill, A (1995) ‘Rights for Travellers: a London Irish Women’s Centre survey of local authority provision for Travellers in London’ (https://collections.londonmet.ac.uk/records/AIB/LIWC/22/008)
BIO
David Baldwin is the Head of Special Collections at London Metropolitan University and a qualified archivist with more than 20 years’ experience working with heritage collections across public, private and educational sector organisations. Former Chair of the Archives and Records Association’s Film, Sound and Photography Section, he is committed to widening access to archives and is particularly passionate about supporting learning and engagement using archives.
And … if you are one of David’s colleagues at London Met
David Baldwin is the Head of Special Collections at London Metropolitan University and a qualified archivist with more than 20 years’ experience working with heritage collections across public, private and educational sector organisations. Former Chair of the Archives and Records Association’s Film, Sound and Photography Section, he is committed to widening access to archives and is particularly passionate about supporting learning and engagement using archives.
To begin your research, please visit our online catalogue.
London Metropolitan University’s Special Collections are open to everyone – not just our students and staff but the wider research community and members of the public with an interest in our collections.
Opening times are listed on the Library locations and hours page. Students and staff are welcome to drop in, but we recommend emailing in advance if you wish to access archive material. Some items are stored offsite and require at least three days’ notice. External visitors should email us to arrange admission and registration.
For further details, please contact specialcollections@londonmet.ac.uk or follow us on Instagram @londonmetspecialcollections
Thank you for a wonderful journey through Special Collections, David: inspirational!