Exciting news for archives managers! A new standard can help you improve your services and highlight your excellence. Find out more on the Archive Service Accreditation webpage and in this blog post by Melinda Haunton. Three things I like about the scheme: One size doesn't fit all. The scheme accommodates archives services of all shapes … Continue reading Going for Gold: archive accreditation is here
Tag: Archives
A Tumblr full of Gems
Delighted to reveal A Cabinet of Gems! It's our new Tumblr account. I'm using it to share appealing out-of-copyright images from Special Collections at Bradford, like this lovely 1920s girl on a photo wallet from the Jacquetta Hawkes Archive. Why (yet) another blog? I've realised for a while that I needed something to fill the … Continue reading A Tumblr full of Gems
Dear Special Collections, your service is …
How do we find out what users (and non-users) think of our services? We need to know this in order to ensure our services meet their needs and to argue our case for resources to improve them. Pretty obvious stuff, but it can be hard to get that feedback, to manage it, and to make … Continue reading Dear Special Collections, your service is …
Salvaging Welsh Archives: latest on NLW fire
Latest on the National Library of Wales fire: this article on the BBC website which outlines the extent of the damage to collections and gives an insight into working practices and salvage processes. £5 million of damage was done and, sad to report, some archives were irreparably damaged by water and smoke. Lightly damaged material … Continue reading Salvaging Welsh Archives: latest on NLW fire
Thank you to Tim Padfield
No!!!!! The cry rose up from record offices and other archives across the land and emails and tweets flew, as archivists took in the message. On 23 April Tim Padfield, copyright expert at the National Archives, announced via the archives-nra mailing list that he would be retiring in May. Why were we concerned? Because Tim … Continue reading Thank you to Tim Padfield
We ALL Hate Mr Clippy: the horrors of paperclips
Anyone caring for archives will know the horrors of rusty staples and paperclips or claggy broken rubber bands, which riddle most modern collections. In this great blog post, "Why I Hate Mr Clippy", Beth Doyle of Duke University Libraries explains the mischief these fasteners do and shares some tips for dealing with them quickly and … Continue reading We ALL Hate Mr Clippy: the horrors of paperclips
New from Ashgate – Library Space and Archives in Time
The latest catalogue of librarianship books from Ashgate features a couple which should be of particular interest for special collections: Smith, C and Stead, L. (eds). The boundaries of the literary archive. August 2013. Includes contributions by archivists about practical issues in literary archives, such as confidentiality and use in teaching and marketing. The case … Continue reading New from Ashgate – Library Space and Archives in Time
Too Many Collections, So Little Time?
Are you struggling with increasing numbers of users, demand for digital, crumbling collections, unsuitable storage space, intellectual property conundrums, born-digital collections, lack of skills, pressure of public sector cuts and recession ...? You are not alone! Two essential new reports reveal the challenges faced by UK special collections and archives and give us the evidence … Continue reading Too Many Collections, So Little Time?
From Ewww to Wow!: funding preservation work
Out of all the things special collections do, I believe the easiest one to raise funds for is preservation (compared to other areas, no fundraising is easy these days!). It is something that naturally resonates with the public and is popular with many funders - and even small sums of money can make a noticeable … Continue reading From Ewww to Wow!: funding preservation work
If you’ve got it …
... Flaunt it! Exhibitions of special collections are a wonderful way to reach audiences who might never think or wish to use them in a reading room setting. However, it isn't easy to create exhibitions and most of us struggle with limited funding and space problems. Speakers at the 2011 CILIP Rare Books and Special … Continue reading If you’ve got it …
