Archives for Education and Learning Group Conference

Engage, Share, Participate: Widening Learning and Access to Archives through Social Media - Monday 13 June 2011

The National Records of Scotland, HM General Register House, Edinburgh EH1 3YY

This conference is intended for archivists, librarians and other heritage sector professionals charged with using their collections to support education programmes. Speakers from the archives and museums and galleries sector will share their first-hand experience of using social media to enhance users’ participation and engage with communities.

Presenters will include:

• Alan Muirden, Education and Outreach Operational Manager, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

• Ruth Honeybone, Conservator, and Laura Brouard, Assistant Archivist, Lothian Health Services Archives, University of Edinburgh

• Dr Jan Merchant, Assistant Archivist, Perth and Kinross Council Archives

• Gary Brannan, Archivist, and Catherine Taylor, E-services, West Yorkshire Archives, Wakefield

• Gail Durbin, Head of V&A Online, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

• Jo Pugh, Education Technical Officer, The National Archives, London

The day will consist of a mixture of presentations and will give you the opportunity to share ideas and interact with colleagues.

Cost: £65 members, £80 non-members, including tea/coffee and buffet lunch

Please visit www.archives.org.uk for bookings.

Thanks

Emma

Emma Peattie

Archives and Records Centre

West Lothian Council

9 Dunlop Square

Deans Industrial Estate

Livingston

EH54 8SB

Tel: 01506 773772

Managing Preserving and Protecting Digital Assets, 25 March 2011

Dear Members,

Please click here for a provisional programme for our next meeting which will be a joint event with the Information & Records Management Society, Scotland held at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. Registration shall start at 9:30am with the meeting running from 10:00am-4:10 pm. This shall be an ideal opportunity for you to meet with your fellow colleagues, network and discuss common issues.

The theme of the day shall be Managing, Preserving and Protecting Digital Assets: the 'why' and the legal consequences. Speakers will include Dr James Currall, Director of Information Strategy at the University of Glasgow and there shall be the opportunity for discussion of the issues raised in the breakout sessions.

Please note this event replaces the ARA Scotland meeting which was previously scheduled for the same date in Perth.

We hope to see you there!

Kind regards
Juline

Juline Baird
Secretary
Archives & Records Association, Scotland

ARA(S) Update

ARA Scotland meeting 8 December

In spite of the weather conditions the ARA Scotland meeting on the 8th December at the Centre for Research Collections went ahead.

The meeting was held at the Centre for Research Collections at Edinburgh University Library. The Centre houses the University’s Archives and Special Collections and also the Lothian Health Service Archive. Grant Buttars, Deputy University Archivist gave us a tour of the fantastic new facilities - something to be envious of! We were shown research areas and behind the scenes - in particular a seminar room with a view into the stores to allow staff to show case treasures to visitors and provide materials for teaching.

The rest of the afternoon included an advocacy discussion where members benefited from sharing experiences of work they had been involved in. Jenny Hunt from the National Archives of Scotland also gave us an update on the progress of the Public Records (Scotland) Bill. This was followed by the business meeting.

Many thanks to Arnott, Kirsty and Grant for hosting and providing lunch and tours!

Please look out for emails with details of our next meeting which will be a joint training event with RMS Scotland.

Best wishes

Juline Baird

Alison Fraser

After 35 years as county archivist, and then principal archivist, in Orkney Alison Fraser retired on 7 October 2010. The position in Orkney was Alison’s second archivist post after graduating from Glasgow University, the first being registrar of the Western survey of the National Register of Archives (Scotland) based in Glasgow. Alison has been at the forefront of every advance in Orkney Archives over the years, not least the design and move into a new building in December 2003. The staff of Orkney Library & Archive have all enjoyed working with Alison and wish her a long and happy retirement. Her knowledge of the collection will be greatly missed by them and users alike.

Orkney Islands Council Director of Education and Leisure Services Leslie Manson said: “The archive is well known throughout Scotland and I thank Alison for her dedication and enthusiasm which has helped the service secure this reputation. The council’s vacancy management policy precludes the filling of posts which don’t absolutely need to be filled right away. The future of the post will be considered alongside all management posts as part of the budget exercise and no decisions have yet been made. We shall be putting in place temporary measures to ensure that the library and archive service continues to address users needs as well as possible”.

Best wishes

David Mackie
Photographic Archivist
Orkney Library & Archive
44 Junction Road
Kirkwall
Orkney
KW15 1AG

Lothian Lives - Showcasing Local Council Archives

* Did you know that Edinburgh’s citizens were gripped by terror in the wake of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, and that the authorities began recording the movement of Edinburgh’s so-called “aliens”?

* Did you know that aliens visited West Lothian again in the 1970’s, during the highest period of extra-terrestrial sightings in the UK’s history?

* Did you know that the Midlothian Archives hold a Dalkeith Doctor’s travel diary written in the last phases of the British Raj?

* Did you know that one of the heroes of the 1854 ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ lived in Dunbar, East Lothian?

The Lothian Lives project is a joint initiative of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian council archives. The project is part of a U.K. wide archives awareness campaign and aims to shine a light on the rich holdings of local council archive collections. Funded by the Scottish Council on Archives, the project is the first time council archives in Edinburgh and the Lothians have worked together to bring Scottish archives to life using the web.

For more information on the above stories and to discover lots more visit us at www.lothianlives.org.uk


Kind regards,
Frances

Frances Woodrow Archivist
Library & Museum HQ Dunbar Road Haddington EH41 3PJ
01620 828229

Business Archives Strategy consulation

Dear colleagues,

The Scottish Council on Archives is pleased to announce the public consultation phase in the development of a National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland.

Lead by the Business Archives Council of Scotland and the Ballast Trust with the support of the National Archives of Scotland, the strategy shares the same goals as its counterpart, a National Strategy for Business Archives (England & Wales), but addresses the challenges of business records within a Scottish context.

We invite archivists and informational professional, users, business persons, lawyers, liquidators and anyone else with a connection to or interest in business records to respond to the consultation. Naturally, we want to hear from those in Scotland but we are also keen to hear from those elsewhere in the UK and abroad, recognising the fact that business doesn't recognise national or international borders.

The draft strategy and response forms can be accessed at:
http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/archives/bacs/nationalstrategyforbusinessarchives/

You may wish to follow the progress of the strategy via the blog:
http://businessarchivesscotland.blogspot.com/

The deadline response date for the strategy is Friday 28 May 2010.

Best wishes,

Becky Penneck

Events and Administration

Scottish Council on Archives
0131 535 1362
www.scoarch.org.uk

Results of Career Survey

Are you interested in how your career progression and salary banding compares with others in the record-keeping profession?

A survey undertaken earlier this year in relation to the profile of the record-keeping profession in Scotland, identified differences between the salary levels and experience of archivists and record managers. Records management roles typically required more on the job experience and commanded a higher salary, whereas archives roles were more often filled by staff earning in the lowest pay scale.

The variations of salary scales in the local authority, higher education and business sectors showed that roles in universities and businesses were generally better paid than those in local authorities. There was not enough data from the survey to allow for meaningful analysis of pay banding and experience levels within the sectors.

The questionnaire addressed job vacancies advertised in the last 12 months, finding that these were evenly split between those which required a professional qualification in archives and records management and those that did not.

Read the report or download it here

Susan Fisher
SoAS Careers Officer

Society of Archivists (Scotland) Regional Meeting, September 2009

The recent Society of Archivists Regional Meeting in the Borders looked at how archivists can use the new technology of Web 2.0 and blogs. For those of us at conference this followed on nicely from some of the talks there.

Kiara King from Glasgow University Archives gave us an overview of the tools that are available and an overview of two of the blogs she is involved in the Ballast Trust Blog and the GUAS Business Archives Blog. Kiara’s excellent presentation can be found here.

I spoke about our own work at the Scottish Borders Archive turning Victorian family diaries into daily blogs. The diary of Sir George Henry Scott Douglas has been available since April. It follows him on his Mediterranean voyage where he encounters pirates and as a tourist tries a new food, the kebab! His sister Charlotte’s diaries are publishing in weekly installments which give an insight into her love life and the mystery of her ‘dreadful secret’!

One thing that we all took away from the meeting is that Web 2.0 is a useful tool and there are many different ways to employ these technologies. If you want to see examples of how other archives are doing this take a look here.

Juline Baird
Assistant Archivist
Scottish Borders Council

The Society of Archivists Conference 2009: A personal reminiscence.

The annual Society of Archivists Conference was held from the 1^st-4^th September in the comfort of the Marriott Hotel in Bristol. As always such an event provided an opportunity for archivists and records managers from around the United Kingdom (and beyond) to come together for 4 days of intellectual stimulation, to meet old friends and make some new acquaintances whilst partaking of some good food (and no doubt the odd drink).

Andrew Motion kicked off proceedings on Tuesday morning with the presentation that, for this observer, stole the week. Discussing the Poetry Archive, Motion gave us the full weight of his intellect, experience, depth of reading, and the occasional tease that he may burst into impressions of some of his favourite poets. At the core of his paper was the understanding that the full sense of a poems meaning can emerge through hearing the poet give voice to his own poems. As Robert Frost said “the ear is the best reader” and it benefits the listener to hear the interpretation of the poet, the pauses and the line endings. The Poetry Archive is currently receiving around 175,000 visitors per month and this archivist will soon be joining the crowd – hearing Robert Browning forgetting one of his own poems provided the biggest laugh of the week from me! Motion should also be congratulated for inducing something I never thought I would come across during an archives presentation – bringing a fellow member to tears. Jenny Moran informed Motion and the audience that the sound of a Cornish poet presenting his poems two weeks before he died had made her well up.

Following Motion was Randall Jimmerson from Western Washington University and his paper ‘Archivists and the Call of Justice’. To his credit Jimmerson acknowledged his forebears in his paper – for example, the call for justice is a notion heavily associated with the South African archivist Verne Harris whose writing on this subject is unlikely to be bettered. Jimmerson identified three key areas – accountability, openness and social justice – which the archivist should promote through the work we do in order to further a drive for a better society. Undoubtedly this was a stimulating and thought-provoking presentation although this author must concede that he has spent the past 3 years attempting to produce a thesis that somewhat argues against the thoughts offered by Jimmerson. Although I believe that, in general, most archivists wish to reach the same end-point regarding the documentation of all aspects of society it seems to me that Jimmerson’s advocacy of, for example, personal morality over professional ethics would lead us into a minefield (involving issues of trust, ideology, the fiduciary role of the archive) rather than removing the professional straitjacket. Such issues were raised by Patricia Whatley in her paper on Thursday. Is there a clear answer here? Probably not, although these two papers certainly aided me in dissecting the issues.

Some mentions should be made of the following papers:

Janet McBain issued a cautionary warning that Digital Preservation is not a substitute for the celluloid itself. Digital storage was also found to be 11 times more expensive than traditional storage of film cans. I apologise to Janet but, as with Motion and his sound recordings, what will live long in the memory was her choice of film. We were shown the 4^th Marquis of Bute’s wedding in 1905. The highlight was surely the Pipe Band in a rowing boat following the happy couple as they were transported to the steamer for their honeymoon. McBain also explained why social networking sites were not necessarily advantageous to the role and functioning of the archive. Mentioning YouTube and film McBain raised the following issues: (1) Provenance – Film is broken up into clips and given a new title through which they take on a new life. Is this the commodification of our heritage?; (2) The moral rights of the individuals documented; (3) Ripping and re-use – there is easy access to corrupt the original; (4) Is their value in the new user? McBain raised the cheap and offensive comments that are sometimes attached to pieces of archival film on YouTube.

Steve Bailey presented one of the more out-of-the-box presentations of the week by using the example of Amazon to explain how records management decisions should be made from analysing user behaviour. I sense that many practitioners will take a lot of persuading that this is a suitable means through which to make RM decisions (in itself no bad thing) but questions of legislation, regulation, and business requirements instantly made me sceptical. I look forward to Steve’s continuing work in this area to see how it can be developed over the following years.

Tim Padfield spent an hour taking the audience through every conceivable facet of copyright in the digital environment; George Oates presented a riveting take on how collections could be awoken from their conceptual slumber in the archival repository to take on a new life in environments such as Flickr (in some respects this functioned as a counterpoint to McBain); and Susan Healy and Richard Blake provided an overview of the review of the Records Management Code of Practice. This is a Code which, in my limited experience, has aided RM practitioners immensely in ensuring compliance with regulatory and legislative procedures and it was interesting to see how they are planning to alter and tweak it.

A mention should also go to the Pump Rooms at Bath where we followed in the footsteps of the Romans (I may have had an illicit touch of the water – very warm!). A Gala Dinner with accompanying pianist made for a very pleasant meal and atmosphere which I enjoyed in the company of many of my fellow HATII graduates who can be seen in the photograph above. (From left to right: Stephanie Archibald (guest of Craig Gauld); Craig Gauld (Shetland Archives); Gemma Tougher (GUAS); Emma Yan (GUAS); Laura Brouard (Lothian Health Services Archive); Juline Baird (Borders); Chris (Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies)). Other conference photos can be found at http://soaconference2009.wordpress.com/

Craig Gauld

Shetland Archives/SoAS Publicity Officer

Strathclyde University Archives has moved!

The University Archives has moved from its cramped quarters in the McCance Building to join forces with the University Library’s Special Collections Department in a light and spacious area on level 5 of the University Library. The new combined department, called Archives and Special Collections, comprises the archives of the University and its antecedent institutions from 1796, other important archive collections and the Library’s collections of rare books. The new facility, which was formally opened by the Principal, Professor Jim McDonald, on 29th May, now offers users the chance to consult the archives and rare books together in a bright and comfortable reading room. New facilities include plenty of laptop places and tables for group or individual research.

Our new address is:

Archives and Special Collections
Andersonian Library
University of Strathclyde
101 St James' Road
Glasgow G4 0NS
Tel: 0141 548 2497
Email: archives@strath.ac.uk
URL: http://www.strath.ac.uk/archives

All visitors are welcome!


Victoria Peters
Strathclyde University Archivist

Summer Event

Following the recent meeting of the national SoA council a drinks reception was held at the Scottish Catholic Archives in Edinburgh. This was an opportunity for members to meet their national representatives and have discussions in a relaxed environment. The event was attended by both members and students and a good time was had by all! (Pictured are Society President Alan Cameron, Honorary Secretary Jenny Moran and Chairman Peter Emmerson.)

Juline Baird,
Secretary, Society of Archivists, Scotland

National Strategy for Business Archives - Focus Group

A focus group session for archivists and records managers in Scotland who work with or care for business archives is being held at the National Archives of Scotland on Thursday 24 September 2009 from 1030 until 1230.

This focus group is your chance to feed your ideas and thoughts into a National Strategy for Business Archives in Scotland. The focus group is an opportunity to:

- find out the purpose of the proposed strategy in a UK context
- help identify the issues that you feel affect your custodianship of business archives
- identify links and partnerships that could be created to raise the profile of business archives
- identify actions that could be undertaken to ensure business archives are captured, preserved and made accessible to as wide an audience as possible

As you may be aware a National Strategy for Business Archives has been published for England & Wales. This strategy aims to "raise the profile of business archives, ensuring they are utilised by business and research alike and that future collection are more representative of the UK's diverse economic activity."

With the support of the National Archives of Scotland and the Scottish Council on Archives, the Business Archives Council of Scotland and the Ballast Trust are working to create a similar strategy for Scotland that reflects our national context. Similar focus groups will be taking place in September aimed at users, academics and non-archivists who care for records.

Following the focus group sessions a draft strategy will be formulated and put out to wider consultation with the aim of a final version being agreed in the new year.

If you would be interested in attending, please contact David Powell
(d.powell@archives.gla.ac.uk) on 0141 330 4159 or Kiara King at k.king@archives.gla.ac.uk

Further information about the strategy's development and planned events will also be available at our blog

Kiara King
Assistant Archivist (Ballast Trust)

New online resource: GUAS - International Archives Day

To celebrate International Archives Day, University of Glasgow Archive Services has launched a new online resource highlighting the international scope and reputation of the University and its archive collections.

Through the collections map, users can gain an appreciation of the impact of Scottish businesses on the development of the world economy and the influence that University of Glasgow, its staff and students have had on the history and development of many countries.

Archive Services staff have selected a number of highlights from the collections for the launch on International Archives Day. The digitised archives give a fascinating insight into a broad range of activities, from geological surveys in Antarctica and Iran to zoological expeditions in South America and medical service in Nigeria; the building of ships and locomotives for service in China, Japan and New Zealand and management of international shipping; the export of sugar machinery to Mauritius and Java, and of beer to Burma, Malta and Australia; and the running of branches and mills in India, Romania, Malawi and Canada. Each entry gives a tantalizing taste of what is available in the wider collection, into which users are welcome to delve.
The collections map can be found at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/archives/collections/internationalarchiveday/.

Please do have a look!

Clare Paterson
Assistant Archivist (Scottish Business Archive)

NCA Volunteering in Archives

The National Council on Archives has published their report on volunteering in the archive sector. This is the outcome of a survey carried out earlier this year of volunteers to “celebrate and re-investigate the role of volunteering in the archive sector.” The report is available from the NCA website and provides an insight into why people volunteer, what the benefits are, the procedures different archives use and several case studies.
The Ballast Trust , is the only Scottish case study in the report. The Ballast Trust is a small charitable organisation based in Johnstone which processes technical archives (shipbuilding, railway and engineering plans and photographs) for other archive repositories. We rely heavily on the work of our volunteers and without them it would be very difficult for us to make sense of the material we work with. Because of the unique nature of the Trust’s operations and our use of volunteers with highly specialised knowledge we provided a good example of the benefits of matching specialist records with the appropriate specialist expertise to understand them. To find out more, please read the report or visit our website.


Kiara King
Assistant Archivist (Ballast Trust)

Securing the Future Award for Perth & Kinross Family History Services

At Perth & Kinross Council's "Securing the Future Awards" at Perth Concert Hall last night Family History Services received a silver award as one of the shortlisted submissions in the "Improving Services through Partnership" category. To our delight we then received the prestigious Provost's Award as his choice from all the entries shortlisted under five categories.

The project has involved staff from Perth & Kinross Council Archive, Local Studies, Registration Services, Bereavement Services, Arts & Heritage and the Black Watch Museum. One of the major achievements has been the publication of Keekin for Kin - Researching your Family History in Perth and Kinross. There is also a Genealogy Group representing all the partners which organises events like the Family History Days we have held in recent years.

If anyone wants to see Keekin for Kin they can access a pdf from this link:

http://www.pkc.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/00841355-EBDD-4692-B8B6-6FF8ED21436A/0/FAMILYHISTORYA5.pdf

Steve Connelly
Archivist
Perth & Kinross Council Archive

SoAS Shetland Mini-Conference

The Shetland mini-conference experience had some memorable high spots. Certain aspects of getting there and back by way of the Aberdeen ferry (12.5 hour each way) also stand out, but hopefully only in my short term memory. The Shetland Museum and Archive centre at Hay's Dock, Lerwick, was a wonderful venue. Archivist Brian Smith and his new colleague, Craig Gould, could not have been more welcoming, as were the volunteers who guided us through the collections and staff who served up a delicious lunch. The conference was informative, with excellent speakers presenting talks on a range of topics on the theme of ‘Holding Archives in Trust’. Instant camaraderie was assured from the start by company well met, resulting in plenty of good *craic over coffee and lunch. A guided tour of the museum and archive revealed an astounding array of artefacts representing the complex history and cultural heritage of the Shetland Isles. Alongside the great many original items on display are some very convincing reconstructions, including the model head of a young female reconstructed from an actual skull found at the Old Scattness Broch and Iron Age Village archaeological site. Other items from the site include bone, stone and metal implements and stone slabs engraved with animal symbols.

One of the earliest documents is 13th century manuscript written in 'Norn', an old language once peculiar to the Shetlands, which refers to a local woman's complaint against her overlord, who having the upper hand and a lot to lose was in complete denial. Among the many fine examples of handicrafts on display are gossamer thin shawls and a wide variety of the intricately patterned knitwear for which the Shetland Isles are renowned. Hardships of a seafaring society are exemplified by traditional crafts such as the 'sixareeen', a six seater boat used by the inshore fishing fleet, and somewhat incongruously elsewhere by a vintage Singer saloon car set beside its ex owner and whaling tycoon's harpoon gun. Our guide told us that she often finds visitors (generally male) attempting to get inside it or lifting the bonnet to inspect the engine; on one occasion she spotted a pair of feet sticking out from beneath it.

On the domestic side, reconstructed kitchen has a model of a 'grice' (an extinct kind of boar or pig) tethered by the hearth. A domestic cow and dairy equipment are also to be seen, as is an ancient block of butter that most likely served for barter. An astonishing horde of Pictish silver found by a school boy on St Ninian's Isle had been replicated for the museum. Sadly there was not enough time to see everything, but a straw pole of delegates suggested that most of us will be back to look around.Moving on to the swish archive store our intrepid group of 'mini-conference archivists' did what they generally tend to do on such occasions - gather in the rolling stacks to marvel at shelves of neatly packed standard archival cardboard boxes. The electronic stacking system can move of its own volition: a novel way to squish staff.A memorable Conference Dinner was partaken at the Grand Hotel, with yet more guid craic (I blame the wine), and with **guisers having a hooley in the snow below. Brian Smith delivered a highly original after dinner speech with his usual dry and ready wit; proving something of an impressionist in a hilarious account of the more unusual curios he has dealt with in his archival career, not to mention staff. His several abortive attempts to reach the Isle of Fetlar, along with Orcadian exile Peter Anderson, to collect one particular acquisition was undoubtedly a high point. The Sunday tour began with a trip to Scalloway Castle. This was led by Peter, who enlightened us as to the scandalous life and inevitable fall from grace of Robert Stewart, Earl and Sheriff of Orkney, an illegitimate ne'er do well son of King James V. Who amongst us will ever forget Peter's detailed account of how the metal ring at the top of the tower rumoured to have been used to dangle miscreants and complainers from couldn't possibly have worked as a hanging device because victims would have to be launched from a nearby turret, and in doing so would smash into the battlements rather suffering a fatal drop, receiving little more than a nose bleed and ***sair heid rather than a broken neck? Why bother going to the trouble anyway when there was an ****Iron Maiden with which to pulverise folk? History brought to life and, indeed, death! Who amongst that same glad company wasn't secretly wishing Brian would hurry up with the key to the castle for fear of freezing to death whilst ruminating on the dubious pros and cons of public execution? Our next stop was Scattness archaeological site, which consists of a system of amazingly well preserved brochs and wheelhouses discovered when builders of the Sumburgh airport road smashed through the North wall of the largest building during excavation. The site has since yielded over 40,000 artefacts, including some of those we saw in Shetland Museum and Archives. A fascinating place. Not even the worsening weather kept us back, but the peat fire in the reconstructed broch was very welcome, as was lunch at Sumburgh Hotel, where we eventually thawed out. On the personal comfort front, mine was assured by a cosy room at the Queens Hotel on Saturday night, with stunning views to the beach and seawall below. Indeed, I thought I was still at sea. How nice to be lulled to sleep by waves beating off same wall, and awoken by the cry of gulls; not unlike being back home in the East Neuk. There is no escape. Quite a treat though after a sleepless night on the ferry the evening before in a force 8 North-Easterly with raging seas crashing off the hull like Neptune gone berserk with a lump hammer ... How ironic then that the return trip on Sunday evening met with the full swelling, swaying, clanging, banging, nerve-jangling glory of a Force 6 Southerly. Sleep no more …and heave-ho me hearties! All in all a most enjoyable weekend, organised to perfection by Alison Diamond, Rachel Hosker, Peter Anderson and Brian Smith. I will be returning to Shetland. A boat trip in calmer weather seems a pleasant idea. Flying is always an option.
* Chat.
** As 'in disguise' or costume. Perhaps stragglers from Up Helly Aa?
*** Sore head
**** With apologies to all heavy metal fans.

Pamela Cranston
Photographic Research and Preservation Officer
University of St Andrews Special Collections

Archives and auteurs - Filmmakers and their archives University of Stirling, 2nd - 4th September 2009

Registration is now open for Archives and auteurs, a conference examining the ways in which the study of the archives of filmmakers and the film industry can provide new perspectives and insights into the history of cinema. Panels will look at a variety of topics including collaboration and authorship; Ingmar Bergman’s archival legacy; the cinema authorship of Lindsay Anderson; the role of the producer; the transition from script to screen; and new insights into British cinema history. There will also be panels devoted to archival issues reporting on current projects and examining the challenges of creating and collecting film archives, as well as screenings, discussions and a major exhibition of material from the University of Stirling’s Lindsay Anderson Archive.Further details including a full conference programme, abstracts, registration forms and accommodation information are available at: http://www.is.stir.ac.uk/libraries/collections/anderson/Conference.php

Please note an early-bird rate of £150 is available until 31st May 2009.

Fife Council Archives Centre Drop in Days

Fife Council Archives are hosting the following drop in days during 2009. For more information please see the Fife Council Archives' website.

Thursday 30 April 10am-5pm
Mrs Brand’s Lodging House in Methil, 1916-31

Wednesday 27 May 10am-5pm
Alexander Swan and the Managers of the Burgh of Kinghorn

Tuesday 23 June 10am-5pm
Andrew Young, photographer in Burntisland

Thursday 28 July 10am-7pm
Some records of the Burgh of Leslie

Wednesday 19 August to be announced

Tuesday 29 September 10am-5pm
Fife Education Television Service

Thursday 29 October 10am-7pm
Archives Awareness Event

Wednesday 25 November 10am-5pm
Rat Week

Financial Records training – 24 November 2008

As one of 25 people who attended the Society of Archivists / Business Archives Council of Scotland training day on Financial Records, I'd like to thank David Powell (BACS Surveying Officer) for organising the sessions and HBOS plc for hosting the event at their Museum on the Mound. The day was very well-structured and balanced.

In the morning we started with a very useful background talk from Alan Cameron, Convenor of the BACS, on the development of double-entry book-keeping and the ways in which it was innovatory compared to what went before, which also introduced us to the accounting equation and the stages which take us from the books of first entry to the audited accounts. Clare Paterson (Assistant Archivist (Scottish Business Archive) at Glasgow University Archive Services) and David then took us through both the main books of account and other financial records from an archivist's perspective. We learnt how to identify the various types of record and how they interrelate. Just when we might have been nearing saturation point, we were given the welcome opportunity to follow transactions through some actual financial records ourselves, from cash book or journal to the double entries in the ledger, as Clare, David, and Reto Tschan of HBOS plc had taken the trouble to look out examples of the process for us. After lunch Reto gave us an interesting insight into the way the theory of the double-entry book-keeping system was applied to the setting up of the Bank of Scotland's initial books of account, with a story of embezzlement for added human interest. We ended with the academic's perspective, with Prof. Sam McKinstry of the University of the West of Scotland giving us guidance on the information that researchers are looking for, the records which are useful to them, and the problems that they can face (largely when only sections of the full set of books of account survive). He reminded us that useful accounting information can be found outside accounting records, in board minutes and annual reports.

Since the course I have been inspired to practice following through some transactions from journals to ledgers. I will need to do some further reading to get over my haziness with credits and debits, but the course has been invaluable in giving me the confidence to start engaging with this type of record.

Claire Daniel
Assistant Archivist, Glasgow University Archive Services

The presentations and some of the practical tasks from the training event have been made available on the BACS website at www.gla.ac.uk/archives/bacs

Review of Archives and Records Management sector

You should have all received communication about consultation on proposed change options for the Society of Archivists. I hope members will engage enthusiastically with this process to ensure their voice is heard. Change can be a positive move and ensure that the Society becomes more effective for its members. We all have the opportunity to contribute to what is going on.

Some concern has been raised over the focus of the review looking at bodies that just represent England and Wales. To reassure members, I have had a meeting in the past two weeks with Peter Emmerson (Chair SoA), George MacKenzie (Keeper of the Records of Scotland), John Chambers (Executive Director SoA) and Peter Anderson (Deputy Keeper of the Records of Scotland and former Chair SoA) where we looked at changes and were able to inform Peter and John about things happening in Scotland and differences from England and Wales. It was a very positive meeting that will be continued on a 6 monthly basis.

Alison Diamond and I also attended a regional and special interest group officers training on Wednesday 12th November where the changes were discussed with Peter and John in attendance. Again this was a very positive meeting where constructive thought and criticism, as well as a positive push for change were expressed. We also met our colleagues from SoA Ireland and we hope to learn from some of their projects and share national perspectives on the changes.

This is something that we will discuss at the meeting on Monday 24th November at HBoS. I will also be happy to update anyone on the meeting I had and what was discussed at the training event. We are lucky to have three of members of Council within Scotland including Caroline Brown who is on the executive committee for SoAS and who is given as one of the contacts for responses.

Contact details:
c.z.brown@dundee.ac.uk
or by post to Archive Services, University of Dundee,
Dundee, DD1 4HN

Caroline will be co-ordinating responses and can only accept written submissions preferably by email. Katy Goodrum, Vice Chair of the Society will be taking a lead on this proposal, supported by members of council and, of course, Society members.

The more of us that respond, then the more the perspective, opinion and ideas from Scotland can be shown.

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting on the 24th November.

Rachel Hosker, SoAS Chair