Getting started at the Archives

Visiting an Archives for the first time can be a bit of a bewildering experience if you’re not used to it. I still remember the first time I went to one and finding the sign up, the rules…a little alien. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed a pen! But now I do, and I hope that by the end of this blog, you will too.

In this blog, I intend to talk you through how to get started, as well as explaining why we do things the way we do them. Hopefully, this blog will inspire you to give it a go and visit us! The Archives is filled with friendly Staff who really want to show and help you to use the precious items we have under our care.

New Gloucestershire Archives Website!

Observant users of the Gloucestershire Archives website will have noticed that the site has been looking somewhat different for the past couple of weeks. Over the past year, we have been working hard behind the scenes to update, refresh and generally overhaul the site.   The last review was in 2016 and since then the site had grew like Topsy resulting in a lot of duplicated information, and many rabbit holes to get lost down!

Vicarious Trauma – What Is It?, by Sally Middleton

You may have come across this term (we certainly have), and it’s worth exploring what it’s all about. Vicarious trauma is defined as the “emotional residue” from exposure to extremely upsetting records. You may not have been witness to those highly distressing events, but in reading about them you have an acute emotional response. So it’s all about the impact those records may have.