Cotton Town Launch
19th November 2003
Blackburn Central Library
Seven p.m. was kick-off time, but staff had been at work since eight in the morning. It was a fine evening and, despite televised football, with very few exceptions, the guests turned up in force. Councillor Sir Bill Taylor launched proceedings after being introduced by Director of Culture, Leisure and Sport Steve Rigby, then Cotton Town Project Manager, Andy Kirman gave a presentation of why the library were undertaking such a project and features of the website. He outlined the scope of the project, linked it to similar projects in Leicester, Halifax and Manchester and then demonstrated some search strategies.
Andy emphasised the website's importance to conservation and held up a glass negative produced by the Shaws'. He graphically illustrated its fragility by shattering it in front of the audience. This of course was a mock-up and not from the library's collection. The point was dramatically made however. In similarly dramatic fashion did Andy conclude when he produced a small pile of CDs and said they contained all that had so far been scanned and that the whole local studies collection could be accommodated thus on a small shelf.
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