Welcome to "Windows on Warwickshire"

About the Project

"Windows on Warwickshire" aims to promote access to historic collections representing the very best of Warwickshire's heritage, culture and personalities.

The project web site contains over 10,000 fascinating items - many made available in digital format for the first time. A wide range of resources are represented - including old photographs, rare documents, maps, historic buildings, art, letters, fossils, literature, everyday memorabilia and much much more.

Each item is interpreted by relevant subject experts and the web site database can be explored using a variety of powerful search tools. A series of "Spotlights" focus on key aspects of the collections and give users the added opportunity to improve their understanding of Warwickshire's unique past.

Working in Partnership

The project team have worked in partnership with local museums, archives, libraries, art galleries and other collection holders to identify materials to digitise. The "Windows on Warwickshire" partnership includes :

		Compton Verney
		Nuneaton & Bedworth Museum and Art Gallery
		Stratford District Council
		The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
		Warwick Castle
		Warwickshire County Record Office
		Warwickshire Library & Information Service
		Warwickshire Museum

Find out more about the partners on the Contributors Page. Warwickshire County Council have acted as the lead partner throughout the initiative.

Several of the "Spotlights" were developed in collaboration with local schools and tested by user groups from across the county. Practical advice and assistance was given by the Heritage Education department of Warwickshire County Council.

EnrichUK and Digital Midlands

"Windows on Warwickshire" was funded with the help of a £79,000 grant from the New Opportunities Fund. NOF's "EnrichUK" programme has distributed £50m of lottery funding throughout the UK. It has used the Internet to dramatically improve public access to collections held by museums, archives and libraries and to promote lifelong learning to people of all ages.

"Windows on Warwickshire" is one of several projects within the West Midlands receiving funding through the EnrichUK programme. The "Digital Midlands" Consortium represents seven such projects sharing common goals and facilities:

		Digital Handsworth
		Exploring the Potteries
		Literary Heritage West Midlands
		Revolutionary Players
		Secret Shropshire
		Staffordshire Past Track
		Windows on Warwickshire

Find out more by visiting the Digital Midlands or the EnrichUK portal web sites.

The Project Team

The main Windows on Warwickshire Lottery funded project finished in May 2004.

All digitisation, learning resource creation and web site development was been carried out in-house by a dedicated team within the Department of Libraries, Heritage and Trading Standards, Warwickshire County Council. The project team members were:

	Jon Kirby - Project Manager / Web Editor Jon joined WoW at the start of the project in January 2002. He manages the project resources and looks after communications with NOF and local collection holders - including agreements on copyright and other legal issues. Jon utilised his background in web site creation to develop the WoW web site to meet current standards and best practices. His training as an Internet programmer was also invaluable when working with the Technical Partner during development of the project's Content Management System software. Since January 2003 Jon has also been the Project Co-ordinator for the "Digital Midlands" Consortium - in which WoW represents just one of seven regional partners.
	Robert Pitt - Digitisation Officer / Volunteer Co-ordinator Robert was seconded to WoW from the County Record Office, where he is a Conservation Assistant. He looks after the versatile portable digitisation studio set up with the the project funding. His knowledge of handling and conservation techniques allowed unprecedented access to partner collections - including many unique and valuable objects of local, national and world-wide importance. His training in design enabled him to capture digital images that show the objects at their very best. The huge task of indexing each new resource in the WoW database also fell to him. He readily admits, however, that his task has been made much easier by the dedication and assistance of his team of volunteers.
	Tom Pine-Coffin - Educational / Interpretative Writer Tom joined WoW in January 2003 and has worked closely with the local collection holders to develop "Spotlights" that further explore specific aspects of each collection. His training in Museum Studies allowed him to create learning resources that were both informative and enjoyable - with appeal to lifelong learners of all ages. Tom was also involved in testing the "Spotlights" with a range of user groups and ensured that web accessibility standards were met at all times. He also worked closely with the Heritage Education team within Warwickshire County Council to ensure that best educational practices were adopted.

Peter Davies, Head of Project Development (tel: 01926 41 2492), championed the project throughout its two year duration and gave much useful advice and guidance.

Finally, the Project Team would like to express their thanks to the staff at our partner organisations whose expert knowledge was essential during the digitisation and interpretation stages. They would also like to thank the project's team of volunteers who gave invaluable assistance throughout many stages of the development.


We hope you find the web site both enjoyable and informative.