If you were asked to think of something funny, chances are that archives would not be the first thing to spring to mind. Yet scratch beneath the surface and our collections are littered with humorous anecdotes, mischievous cartoons, political satire – and, of course, bad jokes! From Fanny Tuckfield’s 19th century poem about being a … Continue reading Humour in the Archives
#CrowdCymru: Project Update
Hi everyone, it’s Jen here, Digital Volunteering Project Offer for #CrowdCymru. Well, what a busy few months it’s been since my introductory blog post [read it here] back in August! Firstly, I’ve been working hard to get the word out about the project and have already had it listed on Adult Learners’ Week, Black History … Continue reading #CrowdCymru: Project Update
Beards in the Archives
To Beard or not to Beard…that is the question. In 1969 my father looked into the mirror and decided that his naked chin did not project the right image. He was still a young man, the only male teacher in a large Grammar School for Girls, and he needed to exude an air of gravity … Continue reading Beards in the Archives
World Digital Preservation Day 2022
Today is World Digital Preservation Day and an opportunity to highlight the work undertaken by the National Library of Wales to ensure that digital content is preserved for the future. In order to raise general awareness of issues relating to enabling on-going access to digital content, which affect personal as well as organisational data, I … Continue reading World Digital Preservation Day 2022
Sport in the archives: Cardiff University
Women’s Hockey team in 1910 (Ref. Cap & Gown, Vol. VII) Today, Cardiff University offers its students as many sports clubs as they can shake a (hockey) stick at. But was this always the case? We look at Special Collections and Archives’ university collections to understand how sports became an integral part of student life. … Continue reading Sport in the archives: Cardiff University
Welcome to #CrowdCymru
Hello there, my name is Jen and I’ve recently started work on a very exciting digital archives volunteer project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It will be run jointly by Gwent Archives, Glamorgan Archives and Cardiff University Special Collections & Archives. The project will be accessed via the crowdsourcing platform established by those … Continue reading Welcome to #CrowdCymru
Revealing the Lived Experience of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic People in Wales
Wales is a multi-cultural nation, where people from many different cultural backgrounds have lived alongside each other for generations. However, the lived experiences of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people are often underrepresented, although their stories are to be found in a multitude of collections, including documents, photographs, pictures, artefacts and audio-visual material. Archives and … Continue reading Revealing the Lived Experience of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic People in Wales
International Archives Day: Researching LGBTQ+ History in Wales
It’s International Archives Day, and the theme this year is #ArchivesAreYou. Archives contain the stories of individuals and communities from the past, present, and eventually the future. Although Wales has a brave and proud history of LGBTQ+ people and allies standing up for their rights, researching LGBTQ+ people in the past can be difficult. Homosexuality … Continue reading International Archives Day: Researching LGBTQ+ History in Wales
Women’s History in the Archives
The theme for this year's International Archives Week is 'Archives Are You', providing an ideal opportunity to emphasize the importance of making sure our collections are more representative. Throughout history, women have made extraordinary contributions both here in Wales and across the World. But these contributions often went largely unrecorded, and the struggle for women … Continue reading Women’s History in the Archives
Memory Archive: Helping People Living with Dementia
In this blog, Reina van der Wiel (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales) and Catalena Angele (People's Collection Wales) discuss how and why the Archif Cof | Memory Archive was established on the People's Collection Wales website and its importance of facilitating reminiscence work with people living with dementia. Cowbridge RHS dance ca … Continue reading Memory Archive: Helping People Living with Dementia