I realise that not many of you will be able to attend a meeting to be
held in London this coming Saturday, but I think it is important for all
of us whose research will be affected by changes at the National
Archives to be aware of this.
Abigail
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: The future of public access services at the National Archives
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 18:59:42 -0000
From: RPaley <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: From: Local-History list <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Although it is very short notice members of this list may be interested
in an invitation only meeting to be held by Archives for London in
association with the British Association for Local History on the above
subject.
A programme and booking form follow at the end of this message. Please
note that booking is essential - the room has limited capacity and we
need to know how many to cater for!
The background is the announcement by the National Archives that they
intend to close the Family Record Centre at Clerkenwell and transfer the
visitor services to Kew. Many members of both organisations have
indicated that they feel that the decision will bring about a
substantial deterioration in the standard of genealogical services. As a
result, the transfer of additional researchers to Kew is also likely to
have an impact on existing public access services at Kew. It would
appear that the decision, to take effect during 2008, is irrevocable,
but we feel that there should be a chance to bring public feeling to
bear and see if some of the concerns that have been raised can be
discussed in a public forum.
We feel that there will be many other family, local, professional and
national historical bodies whose members will have similar concerns and
so wewould like to invite you to a meeting. This is aimed at bringing a
wide range of people together to see if we can make joint representation
to the National Archives to address our common concerns.
Archives for London Ltd, in association with the British Association for
Local History, have booked the Grand Robing Room at Freemasons Hall,
Great Queen Street, London on Saturday 11 November 2006. We would very
much hope that you or another representative from your group or society
can attend. A light lunch with refreshments will be provided.
The Future of Public Access Services at The National Archives
A meeting to discuss common concerns relating to the closure of the
Family Records Centre and the transfer of all visitor services to Kew
Saturday 11th November
Freemasons' Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ
For map and directions see: http://freemasonry.london.museum/contact-us.php
PROGRAMME
Chairperson - Claire Cross
10.30 Arrival and Registration: Tea/Coffee available
11.00 Welcome and Introduction - Claire Cross, Chair, BALH
11.15 Closure of FRC: Issues and Feedback so far
Andrea Tanner, Co-ordinator, Users' Section,
Archives for London
12.00 Tea/Coffee
12.15 Closure of FRC - The National Archives perspective
James Strachan, Director of Public Services &
Marketing
1.00 Lunch
2.00 Group Discussion
Group A - Physical Access Issues (Facilitator: Beth Astridge)
Group B - Digital Access Issues (Facilitator: Susan Snell)
Group C - Effect on other services at TNA (Facilitator: Ruth Paley)
Group D - Effect on other services elsewhere (Facilitator: Andrea Tanner)
3.00 Reporting back from group discussion
3.45 Tea/Coffee
4.00 General Discussion - This discussion is an
opportunity to raise issues not covered by discussion groups. - Claire Cross
4.30 Round Up and Conclusion: Next
steps - Claire Cross
BOOKING FORM
To help us cater for this event please email this form or telephone to
reserve your place
I would like to attend the meeting on Saturday 11th November 2006 at the
Freemasons' Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ
Name:
Organisation:
Address:
Do you have any special access requirements? Yes No
(Please give details)
Do you have any special dietary requirements? Yes No
(Please give details)
Please contact to reserve a place:
By email: Beth Astridge at [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
By telephone: Susan Snell on 020 7395 9258
Archives for London Ltd represents a range of users, archivists, local
studies librarians and other archive practitioners in the Greater London
area, and is a successor body to the Greater London Archives Network,
the London Archives Users Forum and the London Archives Regional
Council. Membership is open to all individuals and institutions holding
or using archives in the London area.
Ruth Paley
on behalf of AfL and BALH
--
Abigail Ann Young (Dr), Associate Editor/ Records of Early English Drama/
Victoria College/ 150 Charles Street W/ Toronto Ontario Canada
Phone (416) 585-4504/ FAX (416) 813-4093/ [log in to unmask]
List-owner of REED-L <http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/reed-l.html>
http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/ => REED's home page
http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/stage.html => our Web guide
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~young => my home page
