archives in peril

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WE LIVE IN A FAST-PACED, changingworld where we expect information at theclick of a mouse. Genealogy is now doneat pace, using online ‘building block’resources – civil registration indexes,

census returns, probate material, parish registertranscripts – to build a family tree far more quickly thanever before. Work that would take months, or evenyears, can be done in a matter of weeks. Furthermore,there is an increasing amount of contextual materialappearing on the internet – military service records,directories, maps, occupational files and greater accessto offline material via online catalogues – that allowsresearchers to put flesh on the bones and begin to tellthe tale of their ancestors’ lives.

The growth of resources that can be accessed fromhome, or a local library, has meant that more peoplehave embraced the subject (encouraged, no doubt, bythe inspirational stories shown on Who Do You Think YouAre?) and started to trace their roots. As more datasetsappear online, it should – in theory –be possible to build a fairly largefamily tree, with plenty of detail,without setting foot in an archive.

This, however, would be a gravemistake.

Aside from the fact that there willalways be transcription errors,omissions and problems ‘browsing’for unknown side branches of thefamily online (making it difficult to spot patterns withina family or local area, which is vital to extend the familysideways into siblings, uncles and aunts, or pick upvariant spellings that might have been missed), theinternet represents a very small tip of a very largeiceberg when it comes to archival collections. One of thepioneers of digitization, The National Archives, hasplaced an amazing amount of material online, either viatheir own Documents Online service or from partnerssuch as Ancestry and Find My Past; yet the onlinecollections, by record series and number of items,represent only a very small percentage of its totalcollection of over 10 million orderable pieces. This iseven more relevant for county archives, where virtuallyall the documents need to be viewed in the readingrooms. Whilst greater access to online catalogues hasraised the awareness of the public to archivalcollections, many catalogue descriptions simply don’tprovide enough information or personal name data to

make an effective search. The simple lesson is thatyou’ll need to visit an archive in person and spend timefocusing on the history of the local area.

Paradoxically, the drive towards greater online accesscomes at a time when the national economic downturnhas placed an enormous strain on archival resources.Faced with very difficult decisions about fundingallocations in the years ahead, many local authoritieschose to protect budgets in education, policing andsocial services; yet this means that ‘non-essential’services – such as archives – struggle to keep theiralready small slice of the money, and consequently weare seeing more local and regional archives reducingtheir hours of public access. For example, WestYorkshire Archive Service has slashed its opening hours;West Devon and Plymouth Archives are struggling toconvince their local council of the urgent need forsufficient funds for a new building; and RedbridgeLocal Studies and Archive Service are facing cuts.

Archives and local study centres need your support tostay open. Whilst online accessincreases demand and raises somerevenue, it also can have adetrimental effect if people simplystop visiting because they assumethey’ve seen all the relevantmaterial that’s out there.Furthermore, our voice can make adifference – plans to axe theBrighton Local History Centre

were scrapped after an effective local campaign showedthat public opinion was firmly against closure.

Let’s recognise the skills, hard work andprofessionalism that archivists and record specialistsdemonstrate to the public on a daily basis. Our archivesare in peril – let’s help them by showing that theirsearch rooms are needed, and their front-line staff areappreciated by us.

M AY 2 0 1 0 YO U R FA M I LY H I S TO RY

Archives in Peril

T H E L A S T W O R D

IF YOU FEEL that your local archive or study centreexcels in the service it provides, please let me knowand we’ll feature your recommendations in futureeditions of the magazine, as well as online. We will belaunching a ‘Local Archive of the Year’ competition inthe future. Make your nomination on our website atwww.your-familyhistory.com/yourstories usingthe Submission Request form.

Archives and localstudy centres needyour support tostay open...