Playing the Archive

Playing the Archive builds on two earlier projects by members of the same team.

The first is Children’s Playground Games in the New Media Age (AHRC 2009-11, PI Professor Andrew Burn). This project digitised the Opie audio archive at the British Library, researched play in playgrounds, and produced the British Library website Playtimes (click on the image).

The second project is Childhoods and Play (British Academy 2012- , PI Professor Jackie Marsh). This project focuses on the archival collection of Iona and Peter Opie relating to the play and cultural traditions of children. The project aims to make the entire collection available for the first time by creating a digital resource which brings it together via a common search interface on a website. Part of its aim, then, is fulfilled by Playing the Archive.