Page 14 - Briefcase Volume 36 Number 2

UH Law Center

PROFESSOR PALMER

brings life to

ENGLISH LEGAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

University of Houston Law Center Emeritus Professor Robert Palmer has brought an international flare to the
Law Center’s O’Quinn Library by making it the primary global facilitator for research using English governmental
documents, particularly in English legal history, dating from 1200 to 1880.
Under a license from the U.K. National Archives held by the O’Quinn Library, Palmer founded and developed in
2006 the Anglo-American Legal Tradition website, http://aalt.law.uh.edu/, which has transformed the environment for
English historical research.
“English History has gone from one of the most expensive areas to pursue to one of the cheapest, so that graduate
education is cheaper and more founded on documents; research is possible for people who cannot afford or are
physically incapable of going to London, and the documents are available 24/7/52,” Palmer said.
“The documents are reproduced completely end to end and consecutively from year to year for four centuries and
more. Instead of a pre-determined theme, researchers can ask their own questions. Researchers can also have ready
access to documents cited elsewhere. Research is cheaper, more accurate and more open to diverse users.”
The archive’s popularity continues to grow. The site receives 350 users daily for an average of 3.5 hours and clocks
more hours of research per week than is possible for in-person use in the U.K. National Archives.
The archive’s wiki provides a place for researchers to share their findings, among many other features. It also includes
Palmer’s catalog of error cases from 1295-1603 and his catalog of Chancery final decrees from the 16th to the 19th
centuries; both of them link each entry to the AALT pictures of the case.
After he retires this year, Palmer will continue his involvement with the project and will remain administrator of
the AALT and its wiki. He projects that he will add another 800,000 pictures, bringing the AALT total to 10,500,000
pictures within several years. Questions concerning the AALT can be sent directly to rpalmer@uh.edu. ■

14 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW CENTER