How to use the Database
Key Terms:
Items:
These are individual entries to the database. Each item can comprise a single or multiple images, PDFs, audio recordings, videos etc. Each item exists within one collection but may have multiple tags.
Collections:
Each item exists within one of several collections. Our main collections are based on key time periods of unrest / volcanic activity on a given Caribbean island between 1890 and 2000.
The four main collections are:
- St Vincent 1902
- Montserrat 1930's
- St Vincent 1970's
- Montserrat 1990's
Tags:
Every item has at least 1 tag, the first tag indicates what collection it belongs to and the rest indicate key topics that are covered, places that may be mentioned or people that are referenced. You can use tags as input when you search the database (see below).
Exhibits:
Each exhibit tells an important story from the archives. Using items from the database we have created resources to help you engage with the stories of the observers, networks and events that are recorded in the archive materials. We hope these exhibits help you connect database items to the people and events they depict across the key themes we've identified.
Some of our exhibits were created by Caribbean users who have been making links between materials in the database and the knowledge and data preserved locally.
The exhibits will continue to be updated as more people make use of the database.
Actions:
Browsing
You can browse a list of Items, Collections and Exhibits by visiting the relevant pages. You can sort lists and browse using different criteria.
Items
Sort by: Title (alphabetical), Creator, Date Added
Browse by: All, Tags
Collections
Sort by: Title (alphabetical), Date Added
Browse by: All
Exhibits
Browse by: All, Tags
Searching
You can search for items using a variety of criteria:
- Collection
- Name
- Keywords
- Tags
- Featured/Non-Featured
- Exhibit
- Geolocation
And more...
Downloading
All files can either be directly downloaded from the database (click on the image, or use "print" or "download" icons for PDFs) or can be downloaded from other archives via the links provided in the Item entry data. All files or external links hosted on the database should be accessible free of charge. If you visit an external link and hit a paywall, please get in touch.
Referencing
Every Item in the database has a "Citation" field in the entry data that relates it to the Curating Crises database. This citation can be used to refer directly to the database. However, some Items may also have additional citation information specific to their source archives, please check the full item entry when referencing materials from the database.
Contributing
We are currently only accepting contributions from our project partners. However, in future we hope to open this up to the wider community.
Watch this space!