Archival Matters

(Title changed in the suspicion that people misunderstand the use here of 'Archives')

Over thirty years an archivist, and still counting: the India Office Records, 1973-1979, and the Wellcome Library, to date. Plus extensive experience doing my own historical research in other archives.
The Wellcome Library Blog, on which I occasionally post on professional matters,

Gender and Archives
a rather longer version of my presentation at the Genders and Archives workshop at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 21 January 2005

Some favourite archives and resources

My own publications on archives
Descriptive and empirical, rather than theoretical...

Reviews

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A useful page from the site of the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick: Things You Need to Know about Archives

Research tutorials on beginning archival research

Archival Research Skills and Techniques:
a very useful introductory site for those embarking on archival research

Archives Made Easy: an on-line guide to archives around the globe
An excellent idea: 'providing transparency of the costs and processes involved in an archive visit - the kind of information researchers need to know beforehand in order to avoid costly mistakes and delays'. However, coverage is still a bit thin and spotty, and tends to be geared very much towards politics, international relations, economics etc (since it's based at LSE).

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Archive Awareness

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)

Archives & Records Association: formed 1 June 2010 with the amalgamation of the Society of Archives with National Council on Archives and the Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government

H-Info: H-Net list for the history of libraries, archives, document-based cultural repositories, and other information institutions

The Centre for the Historical Record, a new initiative at Kingston University
'promotes collaborative research, knowledge exchange and discussion between historians, archivists, curators, heritage providers and the public'

ICARUS: International Centre for Archives and Records Management Research and User Studies

The Endangered Archives Programme:
'Unless action is taken now, much of mankind’s documentary heritage may vanish - discarded as no longer of relevance or left to deteriorate beyond recovery.'

Investigating the Archive
'This project is designed to examine the role and nature of archives and the debates surrounding their selection, application and interpretation. These debates emphasise the centrality of the archive to life and culture. The project provides space to reflect on archives by taking an interdisciplinary approach to their construction, mobilisation and deployment.'

International Council on Archives

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Archives and Society: seminar series at the Institute of Historical Research London

Is the Medium Really the Message?: Digital v Traditional Formats, Should You, When Could You, and Why on Earth Would You?
Archives Association of Ontario 2013 Annual Conference
29-31 May 2013, Ottawa, Canada

Accountability, Culture and Ethics
Archives and Records Association UK & Ireland Annual Conference
Cardiff, 28th-30th August, 2013

44th Annual Conference of The International Association of Labour History Institutions (IALHI)
Opening up Social History Repositories: New Technologies and New Methods
September 26- 28, 2013, Budapest, Hungary

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Future of the Archive in the Digital Age

Dead Media Project:
a virtual archive/museum of obsolete methods of recording, storing and disseminating information, from chips on bone to superceded computer chips.

The Internet Archive
'a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.... free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public'

UK Web Archiving Consortium:
'a consortium of six leading UK institutions is working collaboratively on a project to develop a test-bed for selective archiving of UK websites.'

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The Fictional World of Archives, Art Galleries and Museums

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COLLECTIONS: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals. From the Practical to the Philosophical