Dear All

Many thanks for all the positive responses! I have compiled everything into a list, see below. Hopefully this should give some ideas for personal development over the coming weeks... Apologies for the formatting! Hope everyone stays well, all the best, Kate

Free Courses:
•	Connecting to Collections Care  https://www.connectingtocollections.org/ has their webinars archived and available online - a lot of great information for a variety of institutions and collections, archives included. Free.

•	the Image Permanence Institute have some interesting archived webinars on photographic process identification, preservation and access etc that I've always fancied and never managed to make time for.
https://imagepermanenceinstitute.org/education/webinars.html

•	The National Archives run e-learning courses on fundraising for archives, including the following: Fundraising Strategy; Financial Planning; Case for Support; Building Networks and Supporters; Crowdfunding; Measuring Outcomes and Evaluation https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fundraising-for-archives-e-learning-courses-tickets-31256513072

•	The National Archives Latin tutorial: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/

•	The National Archives palaeography tutorial: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/

•	Future Learn have a wide range of free online courses: https://www.futurelearn.com/ Some more archive specific ones detailed below:

o	Cultural Heritage and the City, Discover how cities develop their own unique cultures and explore key concepts related to cultural heritage. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/cultural-heritage-cities 

o	Learning from the Past: A Guide for the Curious Researcher, Learn how to understand the past to explain the present, and get to know the amazing sources and resources of the British Library. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/learning-from-the-past

o	The History of the Book in the Early Modern Period: 1450 to 1800, Explore the history of the book during the early modern period and learn how the invention of printing revolutionized our world. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/history-of-the-book

o	Behind the Scenes at the 21st Century Museum: Get an introduction to museum studies with this free online course. Learn about the people and ideas that shape museums today https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/museum

o	Understanding Diversity and Inclusion: Develop your attitudes, skills and knowledge of cultural diversity so you're able to create inclusive environments https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/diversity-inclusion-awareness

o	Antisemitism: From Its Origins to the Present - Join 50 leading scholars in exploring antisemitism, from its roots to its contemporary forms. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/antisemitism

o	If you’ve never done any family history try - Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree: Develop an understanding of genealogy – how to research your family tree and share the results – with this free online course. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/genealogy

o	For a different approach to palaeography - Early Modern Scottish Palaeography: Reading Scotland's Records. Travel back in time through Scottish history by examining early modern Scottish handwriting. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/ems-palaeography

•	The Open University also have a range of online courses: Open University online courses http://open.edu/openlearn . Some more archive specific ones:

o	What is heritage? This free course will introduce you to the concept of heritage and its critical study, exploring the role of heritage in both past and contemporary societies. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/what-heritage/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab 

o	This free course, looking at, describing and identifying objects, will enable you to practise and develop your skills of observation and description of objects. It will also enable you to interpret objects and work towards writing your own object life cycle. You will also work with, and understand artefact databases. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/looking-describing-and-identifying-objects/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab 

o	Besides being simple mementos, family photographs can offer insights into the past. This free course, Picturing the family, looks at some of the ways photographs can reveal, and sometimes conceal, important information about the past. It teaches the skills and provides some of the knowledge needed to interpret such pictorial sources. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/visual-art/picturing-the-family/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

•	EdX have a wide range of free online courses, with some great ones on history here: https://www.edx.org/course/subject/history Some specific ones people have mentioned listed below

o	From a digital preservation angle, there are free online edX courses on computer science and programming, such as https://www.edx.org/course/cs50s-introduction-to-computer-science – 

o	Also with digital, edX are running a course on Creating a Digital Cultural Community https://www.edx.org/course/creating-a-digital-cultural-heritage-community

•	Coursera also have a wide range of free online courses: https://www.coursera.org/ - a couple mentioned by people listed below:

o	I found this a pretty good place to start for research data management: https://www.coursera.org/learn/data-management

o	Range of history ones here: https://www.coursera.org/search?query=history&

•	For those interested in learning about Google Analytics - beginners and advanced courses are available online for free through the Analytics Academy. 

•	The Carpentries: free online curricula for research data (Data Carpentry), research computing (Software Carpentry), and data/software skills for library work (Library Carpentry)

•	Codecademy: learn to code for free

•	Connecting to Collections: free webinars on collections care

•	DHPSNY: free recorded webinars on collections care (geared towards NY State, but free to all) 

•	Digital A11y: Digital Accessibility Courses Roundup: A list of digital accessibility courses, many of which are free

•	Digital Skills for the Workplace: 15 free courses to enhance your workplace skills

•	DiRT Directory (Digital Research Tools Directory): list of digital humanities tools organized by category. Very useful starting point! 

•	Free Code Camp: learn to code for free

•	Khan Academy: learn to code (and many other things) for free

•	Map Warper: a georectifier for juxtaposing historic maps onto Google Earth, etc.

•	NEDCC - on-demand webinars on collections care topics, digital preservation, grants & fundraising (follow link and scroll down for the free ones)

•	The Programming Historian: “novice-friendly, peer-reviewed tutorials that help humanists learn a wide range of digital tools, techniques, and workflows to facilitate research and teaching” (+1 vote)


Paid Courses (or Subscription Required)

•	Museums Association Ethics course
Enrol in a free learning course on industry standard practice https://museumsassociation.learnhownow.com/courses/workingethically

•	Museums Association Collections course
Enrol in a free learning course on caring for and managing collections https://museumsassociation.learnhownow.com/courses/workingwithcollections

•	the Australian Society of Archivists has a range of online courses - https://www.archivists.org.au/learning-publications/online-courses. They are, of course, cheaper if you're an ASA member, but anyone can do them, and hopefully some work places might support (e.g. fund) online PD during this unusual times. 


Reading Resources

•	The National Archives has plenty of resources online relating to the Archive Sector: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector

•	National Archives resources on Managing Your Collection https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/

•	National Archives resources on Fundraising for Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/finding-funding/how-to-fundraise/

•	National Archives resources on Case Studies and Reports https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/case-studies-and-research-reports/

•	Ashmolean Museum Case Studies and Project Videos https://ashmolean.org/case-studies-and-projects

•	University of Nottingham collections info (especially good for deeds):
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ManuscriptsandSpecialCollections/ResearchGuidance/Introduction.aspx

•	Archives Association of British Colombia, archivists’ toolkit: https://aabc.ca/resources/archivists-toolkit/

•	Archive Skills, “info bytes” (short summaries of archival topics): http://www.archive-skills.com/infobytes/

•	Digital Preservation Handbook: https://www.dpconline.org/handbook

•	Jisc guide to records management: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/records-management

Fun Stuff

•	Museum online virtual tours http://top10.com/virtual-museum-tours

•	https://ayearwithmycamera.com/blog/free-online-stuff-to-do-during-social-distancing


Tasks for Home Working

•	Clear up email inbox (sort/delete/reply to old emails)
•	Work on your PDR, review your goals/training needs
•	Familiarise yourself with other archives using their websites
•	Schedule a remote lunch or coffee talk with colleagues via phone or video to talk about things besides work
•	Webinars and other professional development
•	Write/edit presentations for future CPD talks
•	Think about the job you’d want X years from now. Schedule time each week to work towards that job
•	Identify areas for partnership working with other organisations
•	Update key documentation/policies etc

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