ALES Annual Conference -Bridging the Gap: Archives for HE/FE Students

Increasing user participation and reaching out to new audiences rank high in the archives agenda for the 21st century. However, how are archivists ensuring that university and further education students, one of their traditional user-groups, are also part of this inclusive approach?

While training and induction sessions to the archives are often available to schoolchildren and adult learners, we expect students to navigate complex sets of catalogues and finding aids and to decipher difficult handwriting without having been trained to do so.

This year’s ALES conference will focus on the steps archivists are taking to bridge the gap and in so doing attract students into the archives to train and equip them with the necessary skills to approach archival research confidently.

The purpose of the conference is:

•           To identify good practice across the whole sector and not exclusively amongst HE/FE archivists.

•           To exchange ideas and approaches to training for university and further education students.

•           To raise awareness amongst professional archivists about the need to take shared responsibility for providing this user-group with transferable skills that go beyond academic research.

•           To identify opportunities for collaboration and partnerships.

The conference will be held in the Public Record of Northern Ireland on Monday 24 June 2013. It will be followed by ALES AGM.

For information about how to get to PRONI see: http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/visiting_proni.htm. 

Cost: £30 for ARA members, £40 for non-ARA members, including lunch and refreshments.

To book a place at the conference please fill in the booking form below and send it to membership@archives.org.uk, or fax it to 01823 271719 or by post to the office address on the form: http://www.archives.org.uk/images/documents/ARA_Event_Booking_Form.doc.

Programme

9:00-9:20                     Registration and tea/coffee

9:20-9:30                     Welcome and housekeeping

                               

Keynote Lecture   

9:30-10:15                   Judy Burg and Esther Hallberg, The Hull History Centre –Increasing User Participation and developing skills:  working with FE and HE students at The Hull History Centre, Hull College and the University of Hull.

Session 1 – The National Perspective

10:15-10:45                 Dr Bethany Sinclair, The Public Record of Northern Ireland – Mind the gap: building a bridge between the archive catalogue and graduate research students.

10:45-11:15                 Q & A

11:15-11:30                 Tea/coffee break

Session 2 – The Local Authorities Experience

11:30-12:00                 Neil Wiffen, Essex Record Office – Breaking down barriers: encouraging undergraduate use of the Essex Record Office.

12:00-12:30                 Dr Ellie Pridgeon, Science Museum and University of Leicester – The archivist lecturer: some practical experiences.

12:30-12:45                 Q & A

12:45-14:00                 Lunch and tour of PRONI.

Session 3 – Case Studies

14:00-14:30                 Rebekah Taylor and Adele Martin-Bowtell, The University of the Creative Arts - UCA @ UCA: utilising creative archives at the University for the Creative Arts.

14:30-15:00                 Susannah Waters, The Glasgow School of Arts – Archives as inspiration: the use of historical resources by visual arts students.

15:00-15:15                 Q & A

15:15-15:30                 Tea/coffee break

Session 4 – The Way Ahead

15:30-16:15                 Dr Matt Greenhall and Dr Jess Nelson, The National Archives – Bridging the gap between Policy and Practice: the contribution of archives to research landscapes, emerging partnerships and hands-on research skills.

16:15-16:30                 Q & A – Round up

ALES Meeting

16:30-17:30                 Meeting

17:30                           Close