Had I begun this piece just a few short months ago, it undoubtedly would have looked very different. It would have been a hands-on celebration of archives and local studies collections, for this year’s Local and Community History Month.

Sadly, I haven’t been able to visit any centres, and I haven’t been able to physically access any of the resources I thought I might when I first decided to write this piece. That doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate Local and Community History Month, however.

Thankfully, there is much to browse and access online. Indeed, some archives and local studies organisations have committed to doing even more now that the lockdown has come into effect. We will thus have a virtual browse through some of what Britain and Ireland’s archives and local studies centres have to offer, and we will look at their importance to the communities they represent and serve.

The month is organised and run by the Historical Association (HA). Their mission is laudable, and completely applicable whether we are in lockdown or larking about outside:

We support the teaching, learning and enjoyment of history at all levels and bring together people who share an interest in and love for the past. We inspire, enable and encourage people to get involved with history, whether in the classroom, at college, in the library or at home.

The last couple of words of that sentence are, of course, the most applicable right now!

There is no doubt that archives and local studies centres also fulfil that mission in the work that they do. And just because they are all closed at the moment does not mean that their work does not continue.

An archivist’s perspective
An archivist from Derbyshire Record Office recently published a blog post entitled, ‘An archivist without archives’ .

An interesting article could also be entitled ‘Archives without an archivist’; however, I digress.

There are a few points to pull out from this blog post. Firstly, the archivist is seeking accountability! She wants users to let her know what they think of the work which is being posted via the blog page of their website, and comment on it. This is a clever way of ensuring interaction with users – as well as a useful tool for ensuring productivity when working from home. Not everyone finds it easy to work from home, and for archivists it must be doubly hard because their work is primarily (although not solely, of course) focused on physical collections.

Another point to mention from this post is that the archivist mentions looking at ways to make the collections more accessible for users, and this fits into one of the things I feel is most important about Local and Community History Month. Not only is it about celebrating the archives themselves, but it is about celebrating the people who make up those communities. Part of that, for me at least, is helping those people access their history in as simple a way as possible.

Company and community
One organisation which is a sterling example of celebrating its part in local communities is Marks & Spencer. The work done by the M&S Company Archive in this regard really is wonderful. For example, they have created a wealth of materials and resources to help older residents in the community (links can be found here. ). Free outreach sessions are offered, where staff visit care homes in and around Leeds, taking original objects with them; such reminiscence therapy can improve mood, well-being and memory. Free memory boxes are also available which can be borrowed by care homes and memory cafes throughout the country.

Although in-person visits are obviously currently suspended, the M&S Company Archive has image packs available to download, which are arranged by decade and theme and these can help with remote reminiscing. It also has a downloadable seasonal newsletter, which contains activities to try at home as well as carers’ notes, allowing in-depth discussion to be had from a distance.

Archives at work
Aberdeen city archivists have recognised the value of their community in helping to record the events of the current pandemic. They have requested that residents in the north-east of Scotland keep ‘coronavirus diaries’, and given that they already hold records relating to medieval plagues and the flu’ outbreak of 1918, amongst other public-health related records, this actually makes complete sense.

Staff at Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre also know the value of the community in which they work. They commented to me, ‘Both young and old value an archives centre as such an important asset to the community in establishing where we are and where we came from.’ Indeed, even though they too are currently closed, they are still endeavouring to answer as many family history enquiries as possible, and they are keeping users up to date via Twitter (@TMBC_Culture).

The point made by Tameside Archives staff is a good one, and sadly often overlooked. They can’t physically go into the building where the resources are stored, but there is enough available electronically and, crucially, in their heads already, that they can still keep the service running as best they can. The knowledge of archives and local studies staff is often astounding and they are as important as the documents themselves, especially at difficult times such as these.

Wessex Film and Sound Archive has launched an ambitious project, in direct response to the lockdown, entitled ‘100 Days of Film’. From 2 April, film clips have been shared at 9am daily via the archive’s YouTube channel, at www.youtube.com/WessexFilmArchive. Not only are people engaging with the archive while the service is closed, but additions to the catalogue are also being made, as users comment on the films.

The Friends of Dundee City Archives consists of volunteers, who have done an incredible amount of work in publicising and making available online records relating to the city. There are poorhouse records, census and guild records, church records and even a section on vehicle registrations! There is much more to look at, so it is worth starting at their homepage, and seeing where your journey leads you: fdca.org.uk .

The staff of Durham County Record Office have demonstrated great skill in adapting what would have been a physical exhibition into an online, digital one. It is focused on VE Day, and it will be available in the week leading up to 8 May. At time of writing, the final details are being put together, but keep an eye on their website, durhamrecordoffice.org.uk, for further details.

The Kingston History Centre is another archives centre which has adapted well to the lockdown. It has moved its regular archive sessions for under-fives online, it is running a virtual pub quiz, and is posting regularly on Facebook and Twitter.

A response I received from Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre sums up what many are probably thinking: ‘We had all sorts planned for the month, but naturally had to cancel all events.’ I sense a feeling of disappointment in that sentence, but a determination to carry on regardless! They too are planning to use social media to their advantage, and are planning a campaign focused on Wiltshire schools during the month.

Moving over to Ireland, the National Archives, based in Dublin, are working hard to ensure all enquiries are answered as best they can. One of the archivists, Natalie Milne, points out that much of their user reach is to the Irish diaspora outside of the island, so their email enquiries aren’t really being affected at all. A free genealogy consultation service is normally run by professional genealogists on site, but this has been moved online and is being done via email. Social media is also proving important, and both their Twitter and Instagram accounts can be found @NARIreland. They, too, are attempting to reach out to new audiences during this period, and this blog post is a useful guide to keeping your own family papers at home: nationalarchives.ie/article/behind-scenes-caring-family-papers

Websites such as twinkl.co.uk have gained increase awareness in recent months, as one of many which is making resources available free of charge while children are at home during the school closures. There is a resource pack centred around learning about the local community on the website (https://www.twinkl.co.uk/event/local-and-community-history-month-2020), but sadly it is not one of the free ones. Perhaps this is something which Twinkl could look at, in collaboration with the Historical Association? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if these resources could be made available to children for free during the month of May, and perhaps beyond, if the lockdown continues?

Valuing our archives
This is necessarily just a snapshot of what is being done around the country by different archives and heritage organisations. It is certainly worth checking the websites of your local service, as I know colleagues around the country are working extremely hard to publicise their collections, to move material online where possible, and to answer as many enquiries as they can with the resources they can access from home.

Now is also be a good time to help demonstrate the worth of these places. Sadly, it is true to say that heritage organisations are often the first to face funding cuts, and when we are likely to be facing a tough economic recovery in the months ahead, many institutions are probably worried about what the future may look like. Celebrate the innovation, acknowledge the effort and let’s do all we can to show everyone the true value of these places which help us to find our place in our local community.

Let’s also not forget that what we do now will be fascinating for researchers in years to come. There has never been a time quite like this before, so let’s make time capsules; let’s write diaries; let’s take photographs; and let’s record ourselves talking about our experiences of this pandemic. Once we’re done, most importantly, let’s send our records to our local archives and local studies centres so that they can create collections which will tell the story of this strange and unusual time!