The UK & NI Dance Archive Collections Database

Dance archives play a crucial role in preserving the historical record of dance, housing materials used to reflect, revive, study, and analyse this art form. However, with declining physical visitor numbers, it is essential to explore how users access and utilise this knowledge digitally. Therefore, the doctoral research project investigated the future development of online dance archive resources by examining the information-seeking behaviour's of dance researchers and the working practices of dance archivists. This dataset was compiled between 2018-2020 as survey the landscape of dance archives and to contextualise one of the study's participant sample: dance archivists. As a result a comprehensive UK dance archive collection database was compiled using publicly available online sources. The UK Theatre Collections Database (Association of Performing Arts Collections, 2009) served as the initial foundation in compiling this dataset. The dataset compiled details of archives across the UK which hold dance, or dance-related, collections, material or items. It provides details inclusive of the archive name and geographical location. Additionally, it surveys dance archives' catalogue, detailing whether catalogues can be found online or offline and which software the dance archive has used to produce the catalogue. This information was gathered both from publicly information and further investigated through correspondences with the dance archives via email. Moreover, the dataset provides a URL link to the search tool provided by the dance archive online which users can use to search the archive for information, it also lists metadata and interface affordances and outlines particular collections, material or items related to dance which can be found using the search tool[1]. The subsequent development and extension of this list revealed that over sixty archives within the UK and Northern Ireland contain dance or dance-related collections or materials. This newly compiled database provided a statistical understanding of dance archives that had previously been unavailable. Furthermore, it facilitated an informed decision regarding the recruitment pool of dance archivists for the study. This dataset supports future research by providing a statistical understanding of dance archives within the UK and NI.[1] A basic search for words such as ‘dance’ or ‘performance’ were used to locate material relating to dance within the archive searching facilities. This forms the listed dance, or dance-related collections value within the dataset.

舞蹈档案在保存舞蹈历史记录中扮演着至关重要的角色，它汇集了用于反映、复兴、研究和分析这一艺术形式的各类资料。然而，随着实体访客数量的减少，探索用户如何数字化地获取和利用这些知识显得尤为关键。因此，该博士研究项目通过考察舞蹈研究者的信息检索行为和舞蹈档案保管员的工作实践，探究了在线舞蹈档案资源的未来发展。该数据集于2018-2020年间编制，旨在梳理舞蹈档案现状，并为研究样本之一——舞蹈档案保管员提供背景信息。据此，一个全面的英国舞蹈档案集合数据库得以构建，该数据库利用公开的在线资源汇编而成。英国剧院收藏数据库（表演艺术收藏协会，2009年）构成了编制此数据集的初步基础。该数据集详述了英国各处持有舞蹈或与舞蹈相关收藏、资料或物品的档案详情，包括档案名称和地理位置。此外，它对舞蹈档案的目录进行了调查，详细说明了目录是否可在网上或离线获取，以及舞蹈档案所使用的软件以生成目录。这些信息既来自公开信息，也通过电子邮件与舞蹈档案的进一步沟通获得。此外，该数据集提供了舞蹈档案在线提供的搜索工具的URL链接，用户可通过该链接搜索档案中的信息，并列出了元数据和界面功能，概述了可通过搜索工具找到的特定舞蹈相关收藏、资料或物品[1]。该列表的后续发展和扩展揭示了英国及北爱尔兰六十多个档案机构含有舞蹈或与舞蹈相关的收藏或材料。这一新编制的数据库为以前未曾有过的舞蹈档案的统计理解提供了可能。此外，它还便利了对舞蹈档案保管员招募池的有知决策。该数据集通过提供英国及北爱尔兰舞蹈档案的统计理解，支持了未来的研究。[1] 使用如‘舞蹈’或‘表演’等基本词汇的搜索，用于在档案搜索设施中定位与舞蹈相关的资料。这构成了数据集中列出的舞蹈或与舞蹈相关收藏的价值。