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Success of digital copyright masterclass
The feedback from the digital copyright masterclass has demonstrated the value of the training and the regionally coordinated training provided by AWM. Thank you to everyone who attended the course and took the time to provide us with feedback. Why people attended To develop knowledge and to feel more confident in a core professional skill and in so doing support ‘an efficient and robust service’. Several people highlighted how necessary copyrigh...
No Barriers in action: Supporting ‘Proud Shakespeare’ at SBT
An early action identified by both Hannah and Jessica, respectively our Phase 1 and Phase 2 trainees, was to consider the barriers to engagement with archives by members of the LGBTQ+ community. A particular focus was to be how the LGBTQ+ lived experiences (both historic and contemporary) were reflected in the holdings of archive services, how they were described in finding aids and the extent to which LGBTQ+ people knew about and were prepared t...
Benchmarking digital preservation - a workshop
To kick off AWM’s Digital Progress Programme for 2022, Elizabeth Oxborrow-Cowan hosted a workshop on benchmarking digital preservation activity for AWM members. Colleagues from a range of services worked through the assessment tool for the NDSA’s Levels of Digital Preservation and the Digital Preservation’s Rapid Assessment Model with its visualisation facility. Although it looked like a tall order to complete both of these in two hours that’s wh...
Clore your way up the leadership ladder
Being a good leader can seem a dark art or something you dare not contemplate. However, Clore is here to help. The Clore Duffield Foundation is a charitable foundation that has spent the last 20 years providing training and support to develop leadership in the cultural sector. It is famed for its Clore Fellowship Programme. I had always wanted to go on the Clore Fellowship but children and work had always made the intensive Fellowship Programme i...
Case for the Ordinary - reviewing a collaborative project
Saturday 12th January 2022 saw the launch of the ‘Case for the Ordinary’ exhibition which concludes a 3-year collaborative project, funded by Wellcome, about the patient experience of mental health care at Staffordshire’s three County Asylums. The event was attended by those who have been involved in the project as partners, volunteers or staff. This was an opportunity to look back at the aims of the project and to reflect on its outcomes. Last y...
Towards an Inclusive Archive - a Service Perspective
... Thanks to Worcestershire Archives and Archaeology Service for sharing this presentation, originally introduced at our Members’ meeting in May 2021. It is now offered as a support to services engaging with diversity and inclusion. Combined with the TNA presentation already provided, this also offers a point of reference for services linking with our ‘No Barriers’ trainee, Jess. ...
Introducing Jess, our ‘No Barriers’ Phase 2 trainee
We are delighted to welcome Jess Whitfield as our second ‘No Barriers’ trainee, initially hosted by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT), later by Wolverhampton City Archives. Jess’ introduction follows this reminder about the project. Colleagues may remember Hannah Adereti, our Phase 1 trainee. Hannah has now decided to pursue further academic studies and we wish them well for the future. We are pleased that Hannah wishes to remain in touch wi...
Dr Pedro Cravinho
Pedro is the Keeper of the Archives at the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media at Birmingham City University, a Trustee for the National Jazz Archive (NJA), a board member of the Scottish Jazz Archive (SJA) and the Duke Ellington Society UK (DESUK). He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR) and co-leads the History, Heritage and Archives research cluster. Also, he is a member of CITCEM – Transdi...
Carys Fyson
... Carys is an Archives Assistant at Huntingdonshire Archives but has previously worked for local authorities in Warwickshire and Wolverhampton. She also has a background in Photography and Photographic History. Carys is enthusiastic about finding ways to make archives more accessible and commemorating different histories in the West Midlands. ...
Rob Dakin
Rob has worked in the storage equipment industry for nearly 40 years, the last 15 years specialising in working in the heritage sectors, predominantly with archives, museums and libraries. Rob specialises in design, space planning and the effective use of space in storage areas in the most sustainable way and has worked for many years with local and national institutions. Originally from London, Rob relocated 30 years ago to the West Midlands and...
Archives West Midlands Annual Review 2020–2021
We are delighted to announce the publication of our latest Annual Review. As with our previous reviews, it contains an overview of the work of Archives West Midlands and the exciting and dynamic work our members have completed in the last year. The review provides an insight to the fabulous work archives across the West Midlands are doing and how robust and creative member services have been in responding to the challenges posed by the pandemic. ...
Towards an Inclusive Archive
... We are grateful to The National Archives for allowing us to share this presentation, originally unveiled at our Members’ meeting in May 2021. This is shared now, to support the work of our ‘No Barriers’ project and further papers from the event will be released in coming weeks as the project progresses and liaise with colleagues across the sector. Our ‘No Barriers’ project will be discussed at our AGM on 24th September 2021. ...
Digital copyright masterclass for AWM members
Despite lockdown AWM members were able to benefit from top class training in digital copyright at a cost of just £15 per delegate. Through 2 half days of remote training Debbie McDonnell of Naomi Korn Associates reminded us of the basics of copyright before leading us through the complexities of copyright in a digital environment. Up to date and relevant Orphan works, social media, Creative Commons and digital assets management were all explored ...
Keele University Work Placement Module for Humanities Postgraduates
In 2021, faced with the challenges posed by covid lockdown restrictions, archives work placement student Ashleigh Coffey successfully navigated working collaboratively as well as independently via Teams. This was followed by onsite working in the Archives once restrictions eased. Ash was able to apply research and palaeography skills to explore archival material, uncover new evidence, and write a research blog about a unique edition from our coll...
Digital Preservation Coalition’s Rapid Assessment Model workshop
On the 9th March 2021, AWM were delighted to host a Digital Preservation Coalition workshop for AWM members. The Digital Preservation Coalition’s Rapid Assessment Model (DPC RAM) is a quick way for any organization to assess its digital preservation maturity. The results should be used to inform planning. The DPC recommends preferably a risk based approach to planning using The National Archives DiAGRAM – the Digital Archives Graphical Risk Asses...
Applying the DPC Rapid Assessment Model in your archive service
On Tuesday 9th March 2021, 10am – 12pm, AWM will be hosting an online workshop exploring the Rapid Assessment Model. The Rapid Assessment Model was launched by the Digital Preservation Coalition in late 2020. It’s aim is to provide a simple tool by which an organization can quickly assess the status of its digital preservation across all aspects – organizational, technical and functional – measured against a set of maturity levels. This online wo...
Pat Kiernan (1946-2020)
Last year AWM lost a dear friend and valued trustee. The below has been reproduced with the kind permission of the Friends of Shropshire Archives. This year the Friends of Shropshire Archives lost a great friend, founder member, and supporter as well as the person who had been our treasurer since 1994. Pat housed a large personality in a small frame. She was always a significant presence at Friends events ensuring subscriptions and fees were coll...
Adapting to Covid-19 at Cadbury Research Library
Like all other archive services, the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham closed in March 2020 due to Covid-19. Some staff were furloughed, whilst others quickly got used to working from home. The library reopen in September 2020 with staff working one week on-site, one week from home. Since then, our Save the Children Project Team have busily adapted to this blended working. Although, whilst at home, we have no access to the ...
Make some digital progress in 2021
AWM is committed to supporting its members and the archive sector to implement sustainable digital preservation. So AWM is pleased to announce its outline programme for this year’s Digital Progress Programme. As usual the focus is on providing our members with practical advice that they can directly implement in their work, and giving them opportunities to share and learn from each other. Here’s this year’s outline programme – firm dates will be ...
Novice to Know-How training - an introduction to digital preservation
The National Archives is offering access to free online digital preservation training called Novice to Know-How, developed by the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC). With priority given to the UK archive sector and DPC member institutions. You can register for free access at Novice to Know-How. About Novice to Know-How Novice to Know-How is part of The National Archives’ digital capacity building strategy, ‘Plugged In, Powered Up.’ Researched, ...
A Model Project?
The Small Bills and Petty Finance project about the Old Poor Law, run in collaboration with the Staffordshire Archives and Heritage Service, has produced a report about the integration of local collections, archival volunteers, and academic research. When the project began at Stafford back in 2016, it was hoped that the conjunction of archives staff, regular volunteers, and academic historians would enable a new sort of project, with shared parti...
Diversity training – a useful first course
AWM Trustee, Elizabeth Oxborrow Cowan shares her experience of completing diversity and inclusion training and becoming a Diversity Ally. 2020 has been a turbulent year in the long-running debate around diversity and the archives profession has had its fair share of that turbulence. Whilst the Archives and Records Association (ARA) and the National Archives are working to encourage change it is up to individual services and archive professionals ...
Recording the Pandemic in Staffordshire
Staffordshire Archives and Heritage Service are working with people from across the county to create a lasting record of Covid-19. “Lockdown Memories” explores how the pandemic and lockdown measures have affected the lives of Staffordshire people. Collective Memories Over 120 people have responded to an online questionnaire with stories and testimony about their experiences; from working on frontline services, coping with self-isolation or social...