Welcome to the new Gloucestershire Archives blog

I’m delighted to be writing the first of what I know will be interesting and informative posts about the range of activities in which the Archives is involved.

Over the next year, archives staff, volunteers and guest editors will be posting new blogs every couple of weeks or so. We plan to invite you behind the scenes to learn more about collections care, digital preservation, insights from our volunteers etc. And to bring to light some of the hidden gems in our wide-ranging collections to share with a broader audience.

A particularly exciting development to let you know about is that we are working with our key partners to submit a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. The ‘For the Record’ project is about a collaborative approach to gathering, keeping and sharing the documented heritage of local communities in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.

It builds on joint-working arrangements that are already helping to do this and paves the way for better access that will continue into the future. As currently envisaged, it will have three elements: a Heritage Hub; digital preservation work; and new strongrooms. You can read more about it here.

We hope that you will enjoy our blog. As this is a new venture for us, we are particularly keen to receive feedback during this pilot year, and encourage you to add your own comments.

Please remember to contact us directly, rather than through the blog, for any general queries, family history questions, course bookings etc. We will then be able to deal with these properly.

Heather Forbes, Head of Information Management & Archives