Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this module the student should be able to:
• Formulate best practice procedures for running a research room
• Demonstrate the potential of the web and social media to enhance and develop user services and widen access
• Recognise the ways in which archives can engage with communities and encourage less passive user experiences, particularly
in the context of oral history projects.
• Be aware of the main challenges that can be encountered in the provision of access to archive collections
• Develop an awareness of the experience of using archives as a researcher
Indicative Module Content:
The module will cover the following broad areas:
Week 1 Definitions of access and outreach, perceptions of the user; Week 2 Providing services for users - the research room procedures and services; Week 3 Framing access policies, restrictions and regulations; Week 4 Archives in times of war and conflict; Week 5 Displaced archives; Weeks 6 & 7 Oral history: theory and practice; Week 8 Non-textual archives: Intangible cultural heritage (ICH); Week 9 Developing an online presence; Week 10 Exhibiting archives - physical and virtual; Weeks 11 & 12 Broadening outreach - educational initiatives, community engagement, community archiving.