Last chance to get involved in Community Archives support project

A three-year Norfolk Record Office (NRO) project, supporting community archives across the county, which was extended through the pandemic period is now finally drawing to a close, but there's still time to get support.

Made possible with money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded £217,400 in 2019 to support Community Archives: Skills, Support and Sustainability. As the name suggests, the project has provided communities with the skills and support they need to create sustainable community archives.

During the lockdown much of this support had to move online, but now, in the last phase of work, there are to be a series of face-to-face archive surgeries, to make sure that community groups feel confident moving forward and know how to use the online resources which have been developed.

• Drop-in archive surgeries, which will be run by community archivists, will be held at:
• West and North Norfolk, Wednesday 15 June at the Kings Lynn Borough Archive, 12pm-5pm
• Broadland, Wednesday 22 June at the Girlguiding Norfolk's ARC centre in Coltishall, 12pm-4pm
•  South Norfolk, Thursday 30 June at Long Stratton Library, 12pm-4pm
•  Norwich, Tuesday 5 July at the Norfolk Record Office, 12pm-5pm

Celebrating Success

A project celebration was held on Thursday 9 June, International Archives Day, at which groups showcased all they had learnt and the fantastic heritage they look after.

The key achievements of the project were highlighted, including:

• 215 delegates have benefited from online or face to face training
• 35 archive groups have participated
• Equipment and preservation materials have been purchased for 27 groups
• 84 conversations have been logged on the community archive discussion forum
• The online toolkit, training videos and resources, have been viewed 14,400 times!

Cllr Margaret Dewsbury, cabinet member for Communities and Partnerships, said:

"This is a really important project for Norfolk communities, carried out by our records office during some quite challenging times.

"Preserving our history and important artefacts is vital, and our Norfolk Record Office efforts to educate those responsible for that goes to show just how passionate our communities are about their heritage."

Anne Jenkins, Director, England: Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said;

"Communities are heart and centre of keeping our heritage alive, and we're delighted that we can support this project to ensure the cultural memories of Norfolk are preserved and shared throughout the county. At The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we've identified community engagement as a priority for the next five years, and this project is a fantastic example of how our funding is empowering people to explore their local heritage and safeguard the important history that surrounds them."

Robin Sampson, Community Archives Project Manager (NRO) said;

"Norfolk is a county rich in history. Here at the Norfolk Record Office we have been privileged to work with the region's community of avid collectors and heritage experts, who have put thousands of hours into managing their collections, to give them the skills and support necessary to improve the ongoing sustainability of the records they hold. This celebration was a chance to show our appreciation for our partner groups and to highlight the hard work they've put in over the last couple of years."