Managing Sensitive Collections
ARA South East Event
14th November

 
This is a one-day (10-3.15pm) in-person event at The Paul Mellon Centre, 16 Bedford Square, WC1B 3JA

PROGRAMME

10:00 Welcome and ARA SE AGM

10:30 Update from ARA's Diversity and Inclusion Allies, Victoria Cranna

11:00 Tea and coffee

11:20 – The Bath & Colonialism Archive Project: Finding the Words step by step, Anna Riggs, Bath Abbey

Anna will talk about the Bath & Colonialism Archive Project, which is a partnership between Bath Record Office, Bath Preservation Trust, and Bath Abbey.  During lockdown, a team of project volunteers was recruited to look for newspaper articles relating to Bath’s colonial heritage in digitised copies of the Bath Chronicle.  Funded by the National Archives Testbed Fund, the project commissioned specialist cataloguing guidance, entitled ‘Finding the Words’; diversity training; evaluation; and a project website.

Lisa Kennedy who wrote the guidance 'Finding the Words' is also in attendance and would be happy to answer any questions about the guidance and her thought process after Anna's presentation.

12:05 – The practicalities and challenges of managing archival collections relating to contemporary conflict at Imperial War Museums, Megan Joyce, IWM London

Megan will talk about IWM’s contemporary archival collection and will discuss examples of sensitive material found within the collection; before identifying the challenges in managing collections relating to contemporary conflict and finally outlining the practices developed to collect and provide access to material from people who have been personally impacted by recent conflict.

12:50 Lunch (not provided, but there are many cafés nearby)

14:00 - Managing Sensitive Materials in a Trauma-Informed Way, Debra Doggett, The Mulberry Bush

Debra will explore the successes and failures of implementing a trauma-informed practice at the Planned Environment Therapy Archives and Special Collections, and how being part of a 'reflective culture' within a trauma-based charity has driven it. Debra will discuss the practicalities and emotional implications of working with care leavers and their records, ex-mental health patients and their hospital records, and sensitively dealing with disclosures of historical abuse.

14:45 – Tour of the Paul Mellon Centre

15:05 – Finish 

THE SPEAKERS

The Bath & Colonialism Archive Project
Anna is the archivist of Bath Abbey where she manages the archives and museum collection, working with a dedicated team of volunteers.  She has 25 years’ experience as an archivist and records manager, with a focus on collections management, digitisation, and cataloguing.  Her varied career includes project roles in local government, universities, and the third sector, including the Rothschild Collection and Brunel Collection.

Imperial War Museums
As a Curator in the Contemporary Conflict team at Imperial War Museums, Megan supports the development of IWM’s post-2001 collection with particular responsibility for the document and sound collections relating to the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021), alongside studying for a qualification in Archives and Records Management at the University of Dundee. Megan can be contacted on Twitter @megljoyce.

The Mulberry Bush
Debra is the Senior Archivist at the Planned Environment Therapy Archives and Special Collections based in Gloucestershire. She has worked there for 5 years, having previously worked in local government archives and academic archives. Debra also worked as a care worker for many years and is training to be a counsellor in her spare time.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

Please register in advance to attend through Eventbrite on this link