Hi Humphrey
I always find a good general rule when landed with the task of providing
a session either at short notice or where you are a little unsure of
your ground is to throw the majority of the session back at the
delegates. By that I mean rather than being under pressure to be the
man with all the answers, instead focus on asking them a series of
questions and debating some of the likely issues. Not only is this
often far more engaging and relevant for the delegates, it also then
gives you an opportunity to chip in and offer information that you know
(rather than hope) is of interest to them.
So for example you might start with some break out sessions which ask
the delegates one (or more of the following):
- what does the term 'archive' mean to you?
- How might you find or access archival material?
- what are some of the pros and cons of using archival material?
Get them to add their solutions to post it notes and stick on a white
board. You can then use their contributions as the starting point to
explore some of the issues raised, debunk some myths and offer some
practical examples etc
You have to think on your feet a bit more on the day but this usually
makes for a much more fun session for both them and you!
Good luck
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: Archivists, conservators and records managers.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Humphrey Southall
Sent: 03 November 2011 10:02
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Advice needed: "Introduction to Archival Research" for non-UK
researchers (incl. in Libya!)
At rather short notice, I discovered that I had been "volunteered" to
run a three hour workshop introducing doing archival research, offered
university-wide to incoming PhD students. I have been putting together a
presentation on (a) types of repository, (b) on-line finding aids, and
(c) preparing for the actual visit (pencils not pens; where to get
training in palaeography). A colleague will be doing a separate
presentation on mining large scale sets of quantitative records (he
works on US railway companies).
At even shorter notice -- the presentation is tomorrow morning -- we
have discovered that all the students who have signed up, none from our
department, are all overseas students from outside Europe. The one who
has gone into most detail is studying accountancy, but planning a PhD on
the history of his profession -- in Libya, where he is from. The others
are maybe not that extreme, but I am anything but confident that my own
experience qualifies me to advise them on what they will encounter (even
though that includes collaborative projects with the Estonian and
Swedish National Archives as well as both researching in and
collaborating with quite a range of UK archives; my colleague has worked
extensively in US archives).
Any suggestions on what else I should be saying? I am looking for a
probably fairly random set of brief hints, so anything welcome.
I know this is Thursday, but bit of a Friday afternoon topic.
Thanks,
Humphrey Southall
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