[Salopbaggie]

I have had a chat with Dave Bowler about it and there may be issues, but watch this space

OK, I can now update this thread after comments made by Dave Bowler on Albion Radio this past Saturday. As you will see from the posts above, I did contact Dave at the time about digitising the programmes. He did respond straight back, but did ask me not to repeat his reply at that time, as he has now made the subject public, I see no problems in now sharing his reply.

Morning Phil

Hope you're well?

It's an interesting thing that you've brought up and something I've got on the radar as part of the Download Albion project that I've written about online and in the programme.

It's all a bit sensitive at present, but I'm currently talking to a number of companies re digitising all the copies of Albion News, going right back to 1905 as well as the club minute books from the board meetings going back to the 1880s.

The club is on board with getting the job done over the next 12 months at which point, we will make them available as part of the Download Albion archive. They will probably be free to access on the site at that point and we may do something such as making each season's volume available as a downloadable ebook too. None if that is set in stone just yet.

On that basis, I would prefer it if you didn't start scanning and making them available, because given the work and cost we are putting into it internally, I need to make this a big splash when we launch it. No other club is doing what we plan to do, above and beyond this Digitisation, so it's a big deal here. Plus, if they start appearing online for free, the attitude of the club to digitising might change.

Added to that, the programmes are club copyright. In the normal course of events, I think we'd turn a blind eye to it, but obviously if we are going to invest in this project, I'm sure that we'd be policing it a bit more closely.

I'd be grateful if you kept this all under wraps at present, until we've signed off on it all. If you could maybe just circulate the group and tell them that I've got it in hand, and that we will be looking into giving everyone access to Albion News in the near future, I'd be grateful.

If you want to know any more about it, or have any other questions, just let me know.

All the best

Dave

Hope you all understand why I could not share this at the time.

[Salopbaggie]

In answer to a PM, but others may be interested in the answer. As far as I am aware, Dave Bowler is looking to make a digital achieve at the club, involving scanning everything, programmes, board minutes, ancillary documents and just about anything paper based, in which the public may have an interest. They are also pretty much done with photographing all of the treasures at the club (including all of those "up in the loft" and not usually on display) , medals, shirts, trophies and the likes which will also form part of the archive, it is the intention to make the archive available via the website.

[silverbaggie]

I didn't collect many but I still have mine from my very first game; FA Cup 3rd Round v Plymouth Argyle 9 January 1960.

And yes the price was 3d or about 1.5p for the benefit of the none wrinklies.

Team:- Wallace, Howe, Williams(G), Drury, Kennedy, Robson, Jackson, Burnside, Allen, Kevan & Hogg.

No subs in those days of course.