In my own hasty, stating-the-obvious,
train-of-thought style email the other day, this is what I was starting
to grope towards when I was talking about "undemocratic consequences"
of archive access withdrawal / curtailment.
A friend who knows little about archives
commented recently that little old ladies who can't do family history anymore
is a shame, but that society would probably rather 'have more police on
the beat' if given a choice re. funding priorities; and that perhaps we
could/should charge for access etc. to be self-sustaining. i.e. he like
so many others saw what we do as perhaps an unneccesary luxury.
He changed his mind when I pointed out
that people on lower incomes might therefore be democratically excluded
from accessing council minutes, electoral registers, information pertaining
to rights of way disputes, information pertaining to abandoned mines near
the house they want to buy, etc. etc.
The case can be made to our local decision-makers
that it's more democratic, efficient and cost-effective to provide an environment
where the public can access and research these and many other sources themselves
and are able to democratically and fairly draw their own conclusions from
documentary evidence - and NOT just for "historical leisure purposes"
- than it would be for councils to have to put in an inordinate amount
of staff time doing the research themselves in order to meet their FOI
obligations, which could then in any case be accused of biased misinterpretation.
Steven Davies
Archivist / Archifydd
Flintshire Record Office / Archifdy Sir y Fflint
Tel./Ffôn: (01244) 532414
A rather too hasty contribution to
what needs to be a considered debate and a carefully thought-out campaign,
but it worries me that several of the contributions so far seem to be putting
archives firmly back in the "history box". Moreover, there's
nothing new in alliances with historians and historical organisations that
have been suggested - they mostly exist already (if a little dormant),
and support has been mobilised in the past.
It seems to me that one of the (very)
great advances of recent years has been the broadening of the user-base
for archives. It's the diversity of use, and the relevance of archives
to all in an often practical rather than cultural way, that justifies the
highest level of defence to services under threat. Making a broad case
should be a lot more effective than anything that appears to badge archives
as the playthings of a particular section of society.
By all means play the history cards,
but the other cards in the pack are the trumps
Chris Pickford
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Flintshire County Council shall be understood as neither
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Flintshire County Council shall bear no responsibility
whatsoever in respect thereof.
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chasgliadau nac unrhyw wybodaeth arall yn y neges hon,
nad ydynt yn berthnasol i waith swyddogol
Cyngor Sir y Fflint, yn cael eu cynnig na'u cadarnhau ganddo
nac ar ei ran, ac felly ni fydd Cyngor Sir y Fflint yn derbyn
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