Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future

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26 of original documents. Digitisation offers new and excitingways for people to learn, and attract new audiences to thecollections of archives, libraries and museums. The BritishLibrary’s work to put digital copies of historical documentssuch as Magna Carta and Beowulf online, The NationalArchives’ online censuses, and the New OpportunitiesFund’s EnrichUK digitisation programme are excellentexamples of how traditionally restricted resources havebeen made available to global audiences. Prioritisation andco-ordination of digitisation needs will be part of ourarchives development programme.At the heart of the Archives Gateway will be the digitisedsignposting and content drawn from archives all over thecountry either supplied directly or by linkages to existingspecialised sources already developed on the web.To encourage take-up use of this content ‘services’ will bedesigned to meet a variety of particular user needs, andallow archives to be mediated to meet the requirements ofspecific users or enquirers. The Archives Gateway is thusa tool to link material and creates context and meaning forenquirers, whether they are a schoolchild, student, localhistorian, business user or someone reconstructing theirfamily tree.Promoting Heritage and CultureCulturenet Cymru is a new body funded by the WelshAssembly Government and based at the National Libraryof Wales, Aberystwyth. It is working to promote Welshheritage and culture, on the domestic scene and globallyvia the internet, and to support formal and informallearning. Its work embraces the arts, heritage, sport,tourism and education. The Culturenet Cymru website(www.culturenetcymru.com) provides information inWelsh and English.Culturenet Cymru has taken over management ofGathering the Jewels, a People’s Network project fundedby NOF-Digitise that aims to make Wale’s culturalresources available online. It brings together for the firsttime the collections held in Welsh museums, libraries,galleries and record offices.Culturenet Cymru is using the internet to make accessible allcollections held in Welsh museums, libraries and archivesAs part of its programme, Culturenet Cymru recently ranthe biggest ever online poll in Wales, ‘100 Welsh Heroes’(won by the firebrand socialist and ‘father of the NHS’Aneurin Bevan). It organises family history days to helppeople trace their family trees, and the digitisation ofimportant Welsh books that are out of print and difficultto locate. During 2004 Culturenet Cymru is running aseminar series on the use of ICT in the culture and heritagesectors in Wales.The Task Force believes that there is a large pool of peoplewho want to be more than passive users of archives thathave been assembled and looked after by professionals.They want to participate in the creation and gatheringof collections themselves. This may be on a comparativelymodest scale, or community-based, but the Task Forceis convinced that such groups have much to offer and canenhance the richness of archives for all. We believe thatpart of the Archives Gateway should be theirs to developas they think appropriate, and if they wish, register theircollections. For example, connecting the postcard collectoron Orkney to the collections of the National Archivesof Scotland may add a new dimension to a great,historic collection.We firmly believe that creating the Archives Gatewaywill be a stimulus and focus for the development of acoordinated resource of a wide range of archives – movingimages, sound, amateur video, music and photographs.Potentially, there are many people keen to developarchives that are especially relevant to modern times. Wehave heard from those already involved how ‘belonging’
Access for All: a Gateway to UK Archivesto the family of archives nationwide can help themcoordinate activities, enhance access to users and takebetter care of their collections. The Archives Gateway willdraw them into the fold to the wider benefit of everybody.27Services could be developed in a number of ways. A‘start here’ service might provide a basic introduction toarchives and their use and provide links to key websites asthe Task Force believes that the Archives Gateway shouldtry to accommodate the needs of all potential users. Somearchive websites can only be fully used by those whoalready have a sophisticated understanding of archives –what they are, how they have come into existence, whatthey contain, how to search them. ‘Start here’ mightalso contain advice on how to form an archive and basicpreventative conservation advice for those wanting toknow how better to care for their own records.Curriculum could feature easy-to-follow teaching materialsto enable teachers to integrate archival records into allareas of the curriculum. It will describe how schools canengage with their local archive services and how schoolscan encourage children to work with members of thecommunity to create their own archives and then registerthem on the Archives Gateway. School work based onarchival records may link into several parts of thecurriculum (not just history) and stimulate comprehension,analysis and writing skills.The interactive nature of the Archives Gateway willempower students and their teachers to create schoolarchive collections that are relevant to their own lives andlocalities. It will provide a practical opportunity todemonstrate the relevance of archives to learning andcurriculum-based studies and promote the use andunderstanding of archives as well as the developmentof information literacy.Opening up a ‘Knowledge Bank’The Royal Bank of Scotland Group holds a nationallyimportant collection of documents relating to the activitiesof its constituent banks over three and a half centuries.For over a decade, the Royal Bank’s archivists haveReproduced by kind permission of The Royal Bank of Scotland Groupworked with teachers and other education professionalsto make this heritage accessible to schoolchildren througha range of teaching resources.All the historical information, images and documents andthe downloadable materials on the Royal Bank’s websitederive from its archives and heritage (www.rbs.co.uk/Group_Information/Memory_Bank/Our_Teaching_Resources/default.htm). They support the teaching ofnational curriculum subject areas: in Scotland,environmental studies and business management, andin England and Wales, Key Stage 2 and 3 history.Through its Understand Finance programme, the RoyalBank encourages secondary school pupils to learn howto manage their personal finances by providing first-classteaching materials and by supporting teachers’ continuousprofessional development.Past Lives: A Royal Bank Account is an interactiveCD-ROM that draws on the bank’s archive collections tosupport the teaching of British history from the 1660s tothe 1960s. It was developed in association with the formerScottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum. In 1998a copy of Past Lives was distributed to every British schoolattended by 9 to 14 year-olds.Digital resources are complementary to, and not areplacement for, access to first-hand experiences witharchival materials. The excitement for some students in
Page 1 and 2: Listening to the Past,Speaking to t
Page 3 and 4: ForewordThe Museums, Libraries and
Page 5 and 6: Archives need thetools for the job
Page 7 and 8: Executive Summary and Recommendatio
Page 9 and 10: Executive Summary and Recommendatio
Page 12: 1The Importance of ArchivesThe arch
Page 15 and 16: The Importance of Archivesbrought i
Page 18 and 19: 18 DemandThe growing interest in pe
Page 20 and 21: Our approach hasbeen to develop and
Page 22: A Strategy for Action22‘ The Arch
Page 28 and 29: 28working with the real materials c
Page 30 and 31: 30 The Wider Digital EnvironmentWe
Page 32 and 33: 32 for formal education, packages t
Page 34: 4Developing Archives and AudiencesA
Page 37 and 38: Developing Archives and Audiencescr
Page 39 and 40: Developing Archives and AudiencesTh
Page 41 and 42: Developing Archives and AudiencesLe
Page 45 and 46: Developing Archives and AudiencesCo
Page 50 and 51: 50 The Task Force is confident that
Page 52 and 53: Archives ought to befertile ground
Page 54 and 55: 54Volunteers known as Will Flattene
Page 56: Funding, Recommendations, Next Step
Page 60 and 61: 60 four countries. Through MLA, a H
Page 62 and 63: 62 Action 5New services for the arc
Page 64 and 65: 64 Recommendation FourIncrease comm
Page 66 and 67: 66 Action 2Encourage regional partn
Page 68: Appendices68‘ An archival heritag
Page 71 and 72: Archives in 2004PlacesMotivation71
Page 73 and 74: Archives in 2004Audiovisual archive
Page 75 and 76:
Archives in 2004Diversity of UK Arc
Page 77 and 78:
Archive Networking Achievements to
Page 79 and 80:
Archive Networking Achievements to
Page 81 and 82:
AcknowledgementsCllr David HarmerRe
Page 83 and 84:
AcknowledgementsVictor BelcherSteve
Page 85 and 86:
AcknowledgementsEamon DyasBusiness
Page 87 and 88:
AcknowledgementsJane HubbardWisbech
Page 89 and 90:
AcknowledgementsJudith Middleton-St
Page 91 and 92:
AcknowledgementsVictoria RogersMaur
Page 93 and 94:
AcknowledgementsAlan WatkinAndy Whi
Page 95 and 96:
IMAGE CREDITS95(Unless presented ea
Page 97:
Museums, Libraries and Archives Cou
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