Lynn Corrigan started volunteering with the IBCC in 2022. She has been involved in multiple roles, each time delivering consistently high-quality output. Lynn has kindly produced a blogpost reflecting on her experience, which we’re delighted to publish.

The IBCC Digital Archive team

Since retiring I was looking for something to do which was useful, fulfilling and which would get me out of the house. To this end I was encouraged by our son to look at volunteering with IBCC. I knew that a ‘people facing’ role, like the tour guides, was not for me but I liked the idea of learning more about the Digital Archive. After a zoom call with Dan I knew that archiving was the job for me.
My dad had served with Bomber Command and my first task was to archive his collection of photographs, followed by his log book and service records. The process began with the scanning of the front and reverse of each photograph and page. I found this a bit monotonous but luckily I had joined with another new volunteer, David, who shared this job with me. It was only later that I realised how important the scanning process is. With the scanning complete I moved on to the cropping and watermarking of the scanned images. Robin was very patient and would always leave his desk to help if I made a mistake or got in a muddle. He would check the work that I had done and would leave any amendments for me to do the following week – just like getting your homework marked but with less anxiety involved!
I was then passed on to Alex for metadata training and I soon knew that I would enjoy this role. It was interesting how my training progressed, building on what I had managed to remember from the previous week, with the help of copious notes. It has been great examining the enlarged scans of the original small black and white photographs, mainly taken in India, for the first time. Giving each image a title and then a more detailed description is a fairly disciplined task as you have to be objective and not make any assumptions. Alex has been patient and approachable and with his encouragement and gentle advice I hope to become a more useful member of the ‘metadata team’.
Having completed by dad’s collection (which is now live at  https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/admin/collections/show/2182 ) I have moved on to another one of the remaining collections. The standards we are using to archive the history of Bomber Command are really high and I do feel that I am part of a long term digital legacy. Having worked in tax, for more years that I care to remember, I am used to working to rules and set parameters which are necessary, especially when creating metadata to ensure that the material is searchable and discoverable.

Albert Frederick Nye standing by a Lancaster rear gunner’s position. Note his scarf.

Albert Frederick Nye’s scarf, which has been digitally preserved as well. Scarf and period photos point to each other, providing a richer experience.

My keyboard skills, although a bit rusty, help as do the great cakes and snacks provided by my fellow ‘Wednesday volunteers’.
I am really enjoying the tasks I have been given and think that I am making a useful contribution to the overall project and I would recommend others to join the archiving team. It has given me an opportunity to learn, use my brain in a useful way, improve my computer skills, meet new and interesting people whilst adding to a long term and worthwhile project.

Lynn Corrigan