Now as many will know I have long been interested in the work of the Together Trust which as the Manchester & Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refugees has worked tirelessly on behalf of young people for nearly 150 years.
I first came across the charity when I was starting to research British Home Children.
They began in 1870 here in Manchester providing shelter for destitute children from the twin cities, expanded into the provision of permanent homes which offered accommodation and training in an occupation, and briefly migrated young people to Canada.
Alongside these activities they were active in protecting the welfare of children both through the courts and through legislation.
Much of what I know about what they did has come from their archivist who maintains the Trust’s extensive archive and runs their excellent blog.*
Today’s article explores the relationship between archives and their place in a world dominated by the global nature of research. Never before has it been so easy for a researcher in Canada to trawl the official records of this country, whether it is a census return, a street directory or a shed load of online maps.
But along side these huge advantages have come issues of confidentiality, and the practical pitfalls of interpreting what is on the page and relating it to the bigger picture.
All of which means there remains a job for an archivist, not only to act as custodian of the records but to assist in their transmission and explanation to the amateur historian .
So next week in London the annual conference Archives and Records Association (ARA) will assemble to explore many of the global issues of maintaining an archive.
And that is directly of importance to all of us struggling to discover the story of our own British Home Child.
Sadly I am not qualified to attend but I bet it will be both fun and instructive, which just leaves me to wait for a report back from our own archivist and suggest you follow the link to the blog.
Picture; resources at the Together Trust, courtesy of the Together Trust, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-together-trust.html
*Getting down and dusty, the Together Trust, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/
 |
| Archives at the Together Trust |
They began in 1870 here in Manchester providing shelter for destitute children from the twin cities, expanded into the provision of permanent homes which offered accommodation and training in an occupation, and briefly migrated young people to Canada.
Alongside these activities they were active in protecting the welfare of children both through the courts and through legislation.
Much of what I know about what they did has come from their archivist who maintains the Trust’s extensive archive and runs their excellent blog.*
Today’s article explores the relationship between archives and their place in a world dominated by the global nature of research. Never before has it been so easy for a researcher in Canada to trawl the official records of this country, whether it is a census return, a street directory or a shed load of online maps.
But along side these huge advantages have come issues of confidentiality, and the practical pitfalls of interpreting what is on the page and relating it to the bigger picture.
All of which means there remains a job for an archivist, not only to act as custodian of the records but to assist in their transmission and explanation to the amateur historian .
So next week in London the annual conference Archives and Records Association (ARA) will assemble to explore many of the global issues of maintaining an archive.
And that is directly of importance to all of us struggling to discover the story of our own British Home Child.
Sadly I am not qualified to attend but I bet it will be both fun and instructive, which just leaves me to wait for a report back from our own archivist and suggest you follow the link to the blog.
Picture; resources at the Together Trust, courtesy of the Together Trust, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-together-trust.html
*Getting down and dusty, the Together Trust, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment