| Family History
For All supports the following petition.
Click the link at the bottom of the article (when you have read it)
and sign the petition. Thanks.
A letter sent to The Times newspaper by the
NCA, highlighting the financial difficulties of some UK archives, was
published on Tuesday, 3rd January 2006. Here is the full letter:
Sir,
The recent publication of a National Council on Archives
report highlights the current funding crisis in UK archives.
There are more than 2,000 archives across the UK, many
of which struggle to find adequate resources to provide the most basic
access to, and care of, their collections.
A survey carried out in the North West of England in
2003 found that 29 per cent of archival holdings are un-catalogued. As
long as backlogs like this exist, these collections will remain
inaccessible to the public: a great waste of archives’ huge untapped
potential.
For some, the word “archive” still brings to mind dusty
boxes, but this perception is shifting as public interest in history,
especially community and family history, continues to grow.
Archives provide essential information about people and
places, relevant to the whole population, as well as an understanding of
the workings of government. More and more archives are involved in
outreach and education services, playing a central role in formal and
community learning.
Many archives currently survive with one-off project
funding, often from the Heritage Lottery Fund, but this is not enough to
maintain the country’s heritage. The publication of Giving Value,
the National Council on Archives’ report on funding, highlights specific
funding black-spots. In the absence of sufficient all-round funding, the
archive sector must focus on such areas as online access and engaging new
audiences, such as minority ethnic groups and those under 24.
The National Council on Archives is calling for public
support.
A petition is available at
www.ncaonline.org.uk for those
wishing to protect the nation’s memory.
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