Table of contents:

• General questions
  1. What is The Thomas Gray Archive?
  2. What is the Archive's purpose?
  3. Who directs the Archive?
  4. Where do I start?
  5. Will you help me with my homework or research?
  6. Can you estimate the value of a Gray book I own?
  7. How do I cite material from the Archive?
• Technical questions
  1. What about the re-designed Web site?
  2. What is the preferred computer platform/operating system/browser for using the Archive?
  3. I have discovered an error, a dead link, a bug. How do I report it?

General questions

1. What is The Thomas Gray Archive?

   The Thomas Gray Archive is an interactive, virtual archive for the study of the life and works of English poet Thomas Gray (1716-1771). It is intended as a virtual learning, teaching, and research tool for Gray studies. It aims at contributing to Gray scholarship by applying good practice (XML encoding) in the creation and presentation of its resources. The Thomas Gray Archive, located at the University of Oxford, is not a physical archive in the sense the term is used by the professional archiving community, it exists as an educational resource on the WWW, solely intended for teaching, research, and study (more information).

2. What is the Archive's purpose?

   The Archive is committed to provide scholars, teachers, and students of Gray's works alike with as large and as reliable a corpus of the works and secondary materials as possible, drawing on the resources of libraries, archives, and collections from around the world. It evolves in an online environment that is easy-to-use, standards-based, and freely accessible. The Archive will provide users with assistance and guidance on the use of the Web site and its resources. We hope that the re-launched Web site will provide users with a consistent and convenient interface to these resources.

3. Who directs the Archive?

   The Thomas Gray Archive has been created and is developed as a long-term research effort under the editorship of Alexander Huber. The editor is a digital librarian in the Department of Special Collections at Oxford University Library Services. Please see the contacts page for more information.

4. Where do I start?

   This largely depends on the kind of information you are looking for. If you want to find out about Gray's poetry, letters, or prose works, need to analyse a poem, or conduct research on particular topics in Gray's works, the Primary Texts section is the place to start. It offers complete lists of titles and first lines to access the poems, a concordance, a calendar of Gray's letters, selected prose works, a finding aid to manuscripts, and a digital library of primary sources. On the other hand, if you need background information, e.g. about Gray's life, but also about Gray scholarship, hypermedia resources, and related Web sites, the Materials section is the best place to start. It offers a criticism section, a biographical sketch, a chronology of Gray's life and works, a glossary of names and terms, as well as a Gray bibliography, a picture gallery, and related links. All of these sections are heavily cross-linked, so that there is really more than one way of discovering the resources in the Archive. If all else fails you can always give the search tool a try.

5. Will you help me with my homework or research?

   We are not a research service and cannot answer specific questions or find materials for you. Nor can we answer questions relating to homework topics. We are, however, committed to assisting you in using the Archive and finding information located in its resources. Please consider the select bibliography of print materials and the list of related Web sites as additional starting points for research projects or homework.

6. Can you estimate the value of a Gray book I own?

   Sorry, but we cannot provide this kind of service. You might try contacting local antiquarian booksellers specializing in English literature or an appraiser at the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers for an estimate of the book. You could also try to contact a subject librarian at a research or university library if you want to donate a rare or out-of-print book.

7. How do I cite material from the Archive?

   If you want to reference the Archive as a source for your work, please do include the Archive's full title, its editor, its URL, and the date you accessed it. When citing the Archive as a whole, please use this example (MLA style):

   The Thomas Gray Archive. Ed. Alexander Huber. 04 March 2008. University of Oxford. 17 May 2008 <http://www.thomasgray.org/>.

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Technical questions

1. What about the re-designed Web site?

   The Thomas Gray Archive is a constantly evolving resource, it is shaped and improved through feedback from its users. The technology underlying the archive, its services and interface are subject to change according to both technological developments and user feedback. The re-design and re-launch of the Web site in Spring 2002 follow a pilot phase (November 2000 - November 2001), including the milestone of moving the resource to its own domain, and evaluation period. The re-launched Web site reflects the wishes, criticism, and suggestions received during this period, and at the same time introduces additional features. The Archive is updated on a regular basis, important improvements and the addition of new resources are announced approximately four to six times a year. The Archive encourages users to feedback information on the usability and quality of its components.

2. What is the preferred computer platform/operating system/browser for using the Archive?

   The Thomas Gray Archive has no preferred computer platform, operating system, or browser for the use of its resources. As an online repository it is meant to be accessed by everyone, regardless of their technical set-up. The Archive's Web site is based on standard HTML4 and CSS2 and ought to be displayed properly in any browser supporting these standards. The site establishes an accessible and easy-to-handle environment in which the use of advanced features and graphics has been reduced to a minimum. Accessibility has been an additional design principle for the re-launch of this Web site in May 2002. Please see the Site Info page for more information.

3. I have discovered an error, a dead link, a bug. How do I report it?

   The Archive appreciates all reports of problems you have encountered that keep you from accessing or effectively using the Archive. We will assist you, if possible, within 1-2 working days, all reports of errors are dealt with immediately. Please contact the webmaster, if the problem is a technical one, the help desk, if there is a problem with the user interface or links, or the editor, if the problem relates to the contents of the Archive. When reporting problems, please be as precise as possible: add for example the date and time you encountered the problem, add a URL of the page the problem appeared on, and if it is a technical problem, please include information about your setup (computer type, operating system, browser, browser version, etc.)